Uplifting and empowering women in nursing

This International Women’s Day Mater Education celebrates the women who empower and encourage the next generation of healthcare workers across Queensland.

Women like Diploma of Nursing Senior Manager Claire Cureton.

Ms Cureton was drawn to the healthcare industry from any early age, inspired by her mum who studied a Diploma of Nursing with Mater in the early 1970s.

“I just love that I can make a difference to somebody else's life,” she said.

“It can be as simple as sitting with someone in their pain or being there for them when they feel vulnerable.”

After graduating university and qualifying as a registered nurse in 2008, Ms Cureton began working at Mater Hospital Brisbane where she found her passion for educating new students as they started their own nursing journey.  

“I was drawn to supporting students - they were nervous and worried,” she said.

“I saw myself in them and thought I could help. It made me feel great too, working together and sharing a sense of achievement.

“I quickly learned that that I was driven to working with people through education.”

Ms Cureton said storytelling was a powerful tool in engaging and inspiring students.

“People remember things when you connect it with emotion. That's why I love teaching through storytelling,” she said.

Ms Cureton often relays her own experiences as a student nurse to highlight the importance of empowering patients to make informed decisions about their own care.

She recalls helping a mastectomy patient to shower.

“It was the first shower I had ever done; I was 18 years old and had never seen a naked woman,” she said. 

“I held the towel up the whole time she was in the shower, thinking I was being respectful.

“But what I was doing was demonstrating my own discomfort. The patient raised her hand, pulled the towel down and told me it was ok to look.

“It was a powerful reminder that patients can sense when nurses are embarrassed or uncomfortable, and it’s important to be honest with them.”

This year’s International Women’s Day is Saturday 8 March, and the theme is March Forward, serving as a reminder that progress is not only about reflection, but also requires taking decisive, bold steps to turn our commitments into action. 

“I have been fortunate throughout my career to be mentored by some amazing women,” Ms Cureton said. 

“Now, I have the opportunity to empower women and girls, and to create an environment that uplifts them.”