Linda Hain (nee Trembath)

Class of 1985

I dabbled as a journalist for a few years, and then in 1992 started my Bachelor of Nursing. I worked at Bendigo Hospital until the beginning of 2014 when I decided to move to the Northern Territory. I worked as a Graduate Nurse Educator and as a Discharge Planner before moving into Medication Safety at Royal Darwin Hospital. From there I transitioned to Primary Health and took up the role of Medication Safety Nurse Consultant.

The Top End Health Service has 23 primary health clinics, mostly in remote Aboriginal communities. My role is to ensure quality use of medications, to investigate any adverse events which may occur around medications and to work with a team to implement change to make medication systems as safe as they can be. I love flying across the Northern Territory and feel very privileged to be able to visit and work in these remote communities, as they are not places that are readily accessible. Remote Area Nurses are remarkably resilient and to be able to get to know and work alongside these people is an honour.

Living and working so far away from "my world" isn’t easy; it is because of Fiona that I continue to do it. Having grown up together means that we just “get” each other in a lot of ways. She is so passionate about her job and such a great manager.

Fiona Wake
Class of 1987

I graduated as a registered nurse in 1990, then completed further post-graduate studies in Practice and Management and Critical Care Nursing. After 10 years working as both a critical care nurse and Nurse Unit Manager in a major acute public hospital in Melbourne, I decided to branch into an area of nursing of which I had always been drawn to, Primary Health Care, and have worked in a variety of roles in the Northern Territory.

My role is to lead the Clinical Safety, Quality and Accreditation Program across Primary Health Care at the Top End Health Service. I manage a small enthusiastic team as well as working more broadly with quality staff across the service. I particularly love working with and learning from my Aboriginal colleagues; it’s an amazing privilege.

It is a buzz having another “Old Grammarian” to work with. Linda and I work in the same office and travel a lot together to communities for work, so we have had many opportunities to reminisce about our school days, our teachers and our experiences. I’ve loved getting to know Linda over the past couple of years, but right from the start it was like there was an immediate bond due to our past school connection.

Image: Fiona (left) and Linda on their way to Ramingining