Nursing leader says listening key to closing gap, tackling skills shortage
As a life-long ‘people person’, health care leader Amanda Clark considered careers in vet science and medicine, before she found her calling as a nurse.
But it wasn’t a straight path to her high-powered role as Executive Director of Nursing and Patient Experience at Central Adelaide Local Health Network.
“I hit my teenage years, got interested in boys – my grades dropped, my pets all died, and that left nursing!” she laughed.
“But nursing was absolutely where I was meant to be – I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Originally from New Zealand and growing up in Mackay with her family, the proud Ngai Tahu Maori woman took on her Bachelor of Nursing with CQUniversity, then her Graduate Certificate while working in Brisbane.
“From a clinical perspective I was flying, but every time I went for a role with more leadership, they’d tell me, ‘you’re too young, you need more experience,’” she said.
Her solution was CQU’s Master of Clinical Studies, which she completed in 2014.
Ms Clark said juggling part-time postgraduate studies and her full-time role was worth it.
“It wasn’t common for an RN (registered nurse) to have a Masters – that tended to be for people at the top, not people on the floor,” she said.
“So the next leadership role that came up, it was perfect timing – and the Masters had really helped me to think at that critical level, and to have an understanding of research and processes for executive decision-making.”
Now 37, and mum to two young children, Ms Clark recently completed the prestigious Young Executive Leaders Program with the International Hospital Federation.
With expertise in workforce planning, building capacity, and digital transformation, the health leader says she’s passionate about empowering the next generation of nurses.
That even extends to preschoolers, with her plans to coordinate a visit from her son’s daycare centre to the Central Adelaide Local Health Network Simulation Lab.
“It really does start when you’re young! Asking kids to think do they like talking to people, are they good at caring, thinking about other people,” she said.
Ms Clark said her cultural background also drives her approach to health care.
“Where our health system can improve, and where we can better close the gap for Indigenous health, it all comes down to listening,” she said.
“Often the gap exists because of fear, and the only way we can do better is to loop in and ask people what they actually want.
“And better listening also means people who are using the health system might give more thought to a career in health care, too.”
Ms Clark holds multiple Associate or Adjunct Professor roles across Australian universities, and her two decades of experience have included work across Australia, the United Kingdom and Africa.
She’s previously been a mentor in CQUniversity and Arrow Energy’s Whanu Binal Program, supporting Indigenous people to build businesses and careers.
For young people considering careers in health care, she advises life-long learning.
“If you want to be a leader, and you want to drive change, you need a point of difference to climb up the ladder – and that’s absolutely what my masters degree meant for me,” she said.
“Juggling work and study really highlights that you are capable, and ready for a career that requires a lot of working with other people, and a lot of problem-solving!”
Explore CQUniversity study pathways in nursing and health care here.
