Tamika Hannagan has transitioned her career from orderly to enrolled nurse, inspired by the chance to make a difference in her local community.

Tamika says while working as an orderly at Port Augusta Hospital she was able to see nursing from a different perspective and it sparked her interest in the profession.

“Working in a hospital in a regional community I got to see close up the demands and rewards of a nursing career and it inspired me to be a nurse,” she says.

Tamika has just completed a Regional Enrolled Nursing Cadetship through SA Health, which combines study at TAFE SA with a paid part-time work placement leading to a Diploma of Nursing.

Over the past 18 months, she has been employed two days a week as an Assistant in Nursing at the hospital with the hours counting as her course work placement.

“I got to work at both Port Augusta and Quorn hospitals and it really helped to broaden my knowledge to have real-life experience while studying,” she says.

“I gained a better perspective of the things I was learning and an understanding of my scope of practice as a nurse.”

Tamika is a familiar face at Port Augusta Hospital, having worked in various roles including cleaner, kitchen supervisor and orderly over the past decade.

A mother of four, aged between 10 and 19, Tamika juggled family, work and study commitments and overcame a learning challenge to achieve her goal of becoming a nurse.

“I have dyslexia so it’s a huge achievement for me to gain a Diploma of Nursing and as well as educating myself, it’s rewarding to think that what I’ve been studying is going to help others,” she says.

A proud Indigenous woman, Tamika has family links to the Arrernte people of the East MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory, however she was born and raised in Port Augusta and is familiar with Pitjantjatjara language.

“My grandma was from the Stolen Generation and she came to Port Augusta and our family has grown from there,” she says.

“As an Aboriginal woman I’m pleased I can give back to the Aboriginal community and help them get the care they need by breaking down language barriers.”

Tamika says she enjoyed studying at TAFE SA’s Port Pirie Campus, learning from her “brilliant lecturers” and exchanging ideas with fellow students.

She is looking forward to returning to Port Augusta Hospital as an enrolled nurse and hopes to continue her training at university to become a registered nurse.