Kerri comes home to lead Mater Mothers’ Hospital

Kerri comes home to lead Mater Mothers’ Hospital

Read this inspiring Q&A with Kerri Gane, the newly-appointed Director of Clinical Services at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, South Brisbane. 
 
How long have you worked at Mater?
I’ve worked at Mater for 21 of my 35 years in health. I started here in 1991 as a graduate nurse and trained as a midwife in 1993. I worked in a range of leadership roles both locally and internationally during the years I was away from Mater. Returning in April this year, in many ways, it feels like I never left!
 
What does your role involve?
At the heart of it, my role involves leading, supporting and developing people, teams, and services to ensure that Mater Mothers (and Mater) is the best it can be for the staff, women, babies and families. I’m not alone in this, as I work alongside Mater Mothers’ Hospital General Manager Mike Beckmann, and an incredible group of nursing, midwifery, medical, allied health and support services staff and leaders. We are here to make a difference now, tomorrow and into the future. 
 
What do you enjoy most about your role?
If I had to pick one thing, it’s watching in awe of the teams doing what they do, every day. Some days can be tough for them. Especially when women and families experience stressful situations and this requires them to balance being a caregiver, and afterwards taking time to care for themselves and for each other. My role as a leader, is to help facilitate care for the team too. 
 
Do you have a highlight from your time at Mater so far / what is a professional achievement you’re most proud of?
So many highlights! The warm and positive welcome I have received on my return to the Mater is one of them. I’m also proud that I didn’t let fear stop me from achieving a lifelong goal of working internationally. I was part of the leadership team at a start-up Women’s and Children’s Medical and Research Centre in Qatar. I worked with professionals from various health systems across the world, in a very different cultural context. It was a personal and professional growth experience that I will cherish and appreciate forever. How I lead is different because of this experience.  
 
What attracted you to working at Mater?
Firstly, it was Mater’s reputation, and its history, mission and values. When I graduated from nursing, I made it my mission to secure a role at Mater. I wanted to train as a midwife at the biggest and best Mothers Hospital in Queensland. Mater is also special to me personally as my parents met here in 1968 when my mum was a student nurse. Soon after they became engaged, my father proposed to mum at Mater in recognition of the place they first met. My children are Mater babies and I’ve worked here for the largest part of my career. 
 
Why were you interested in working in your chosen field?
I wanted a career working with people and I was drawn to doing something in healthcare. I vividly remember the moment I decided to become a midwife. It was after seeing a TV ad for Mater Foundation. They were showing images of tiny premature babies in humidicribs being cared for by nurses and midwives at Mater. I just knew that being with mothers and families during the birth of their baby was what I wanted to do. 
 
If you have been at Mater for more than 20 years, what are some of the changes you have seen at Mater? 
Some of the changes I’ve seen since 1991 to now include the growth and expansion of Mater services at South Brisbane, Redland, Springfield and across the state. Other changes include the old Mater Mothers’ Hospital transitioning to the new facility, the merging of Mater Children’s with Royal Children’s and the opening of the Queensland Children’s Hospital. Working at Mater Mothers when it was led by a Sister, at a time the Sisters of Mercy lived onsite in the convent.

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