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Mater Private Hospital Mackay nurse Catherine Chamberlain is celebrating 40 years in the profession, reflecting on a “very rewarding” career shaped by compassion, teamwork and meaningful moments with patients and families. Photo supplied
After more than four decades in nursing, Catherine Chamberlain says it is often the small moments with patients that stay with her most. A familiar face at Mater Private Hospital Mackay for 40 years, she has worked across nearly every ward in the hospital and spent the past three decades caring for palliative patients and their families.
Catherine first began working at the Mater in 1981 before taking time off to care for her family. She returned to the hospital in 1986 and has remained there ever since.
Working in palliative care, she said the experiences that stay with her most often involve simple appreciation from patients and their loved ones.
“When you walk into the room and their face lights up, and they say, ‘Oh, you’re here’… it’s just nice to know that they appreciate what you do for them,” she said.
Asked to describe her career in a few words, Catherine said it had been “very rewarding.”
“When you see the people’s smiles on their faces, even if they got pain and they’re smiling through their pain, it’s just so worth it,” she said.
Originally, she had planned to work as a surgical nurse, but a short-term opportunity in palliative care changed the course of her career.
“I always thought I would be a surgical nurse but there was a gap in the palliative ward about 30 years ago, I offered to help for a week or two and I’m still here,” Catherine said.
“I’m here for the people.
“When you walk in a room and instantly see relief on their face, that’s what I do it for.”
She also credits the supportive environment at the hospital as one of the reasons she has stayed for so many years.
“When you walk into the Mater… someone’s always got a smile, somebody will say hello, and you think, ‘Okay, I can do this today. I’ve got a good team’,” she said.
Nursing has also become a family tradition, with Catherine’s two daughters following in her footsteps.
“My eldest joined me on a few shifts when she was a student nurse.
“It was a proud moment,” she said.
“In my early years I also worked with my brother, who was an enrolled nurse, but he went onto teaching.”
While she once imagined becoming a science teacher during her high school years, having aunties and family members already working in healthcare led her to where she is today.
“You don’t need much reward in this job – just a nice smile is enough,” she said.
Outside of nursing, Ms Chamberlain is a grandmother of eight and enjoys gardening, reading and travelling, and hopes to spend more time exploring with her husband in the years ahead.
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