IT’S not every day that you get to spend four weeks travelling around Pennsylvania with four other women in pink blazers.
Registered nurse and midwife Josephine Bell was fortunate to have done just that earlier this year as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange.
Josephine, who works at both the Warwick and Stanthorpe hospitals, was selected as part of only the second all-female exchange group for Rotary District 9640. The district covers 54 clubs stretching across northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.
“It’s quite competitive,” she said.
“Each club can only nominate one person, and it’s quite a big district. I was nominated by the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe.”
The nominees must be young professionals who are up and coming leaders in their respective fields.
“On our team this year, we had a police officer, a pharmacist, a tourism officer and a venue manager, as well as myself as a registered nurse and midwife – we called ourselves ‘Team Pink’.
“We didn’t know each other at all before we got selected, but we spent six months preparing for the trip, so we got to know each other pretty well before we left,” Ms Bell said.
The team then spent four weeks visiting various locations in District 7390 in South Central Pennsylvania in the United States.
“It’s a vocational group study exchange, so one day each week was dedicated to visiting places relevant to each of our vocations. It was also a cultural and educational exchange,” Josephine said.
“One day I visited a hospital where Amish people are treated, and I spent half the day with a lady who is a liaison officer at the hospital for Mennonite and Amish people.
“I also visited the York General Hospital where I got to pick the brains of the Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) there.
“She gave me lots of tips and suggested some good books for me to buy.
“I also visited a community health centre called Family First which is run almost completely by physician assistants for low socio-economic people, so that was really eye-opening.
“The last hospital I visited was Hanover Hospital which has two midwives and around 1800 births per year.
“By this stage I had gained a fair idea of how their system worked, so I was able to ask the NUM some more pointed questions about things like their epidural rates and how mothers are treated after birth once they go home from hospital.
“Their system over there is so different, but I was able to give her some ideas from how we do things back here in Australia.
“She even offered me a job if I ever wanted it.”
Josephine recently made a presentation on her trip to America to the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe.
“I want to thank the club for nominating me and also Rotary International for sponsoring the trip – it was amazing,” she said.
