When Maree Prendergast, RDNS Silverchain Clinical Nurse Manager, started nursing more than 40 years ago, she closed the door to a different potential career. With no regrets from a rich and significant career, Maree shared how things can come full circle when you’re committed to your community.
As we celebrate 130 years of care, connection and innovation, we are also celebrating our people, those whose loyalty and commitment have been the bedrock of Silverchain.
One such person is Maree Prendergast, an RDNS Silverchain Clinical Nurse Manager who has been part of our South Australian team for more than 30 years and an unsung hero within the South Australian health community. Of course, if you've been part of the team for as long as Maree, you might remember when we did things a little differently.
Back in the '80s, RDNS Silverchain had a nightshift service. Maree had just left the Repatriation General Hospital in Adelaide's south to try nursing in the community with the Royal District Nursing Society of South Australia.
"You worked in pairs," Maree said. "A registered nurse and an enrolled nurse – and we had two-way radios in the cars to talk to the manager back in the office."
"I love working in the community; clients have more control," Maree said. "And it's more holistic; you see them in their environment, and they develop a different trust in you."
Given this positivity, it's hard to believe that if Maree had her time over, she would choose a completely different career.
"I wanted to be a policewoman," Maree said. "I was attracted to the social side of policing, particularly in terms of domestic violence. If I had my time over, I'd still pursue it.
"I grew up in a culture of domestic violence – not me personally, but my mother was affected. That made me quite a strong person. It taught me to cope and to have compassion for other people."
While waiting to join the police, Maree "filled the gap" by looking after blind and deaf children. It was in that role that her career direction changed.
"My manager thought that I was quite a caring person," Maree said. "She was an ex-matron, and she said, 'I think you should go into nursing; I really think you'd enjoy it.' And I was swayed by that.
Later, Maree moved to the day shift in a role equivalent to a clinical nurse today. Next came management in a role equivalent to clinical nurse consultant.
"At that time, we also had a lot of specialist nurses: diabetes, palliative care, and continence nurses. We even had HIV nurses back then, as we do now of course – that service started when I was on day shift," Maree said.
One of the more significant changes came with the commencement of a short-term post-acute contract, which involved people receiving care in the community following a stay in hospital. This became a precursor to the SA Community Care (SACC) contract RDNS Silverchain has today.
"It was a huge deal winning that contract; it changed the whole face of RDNS: our cars, our uniforms, everything changed."
Later, the merger with Silverchain would bring more change, followed by a little thing called COVID-19.
"COVID was being like being transported onto another planet. All the PPE you had to wear, and then team members got COVID and couldn't be replaced, and you still had to deliver care. Everyone had to work under these stressful conditions, but we did get through."
While Maree values the legacy of RDNS Silverchain, her focus remains on moving forward.
"We can take the best parts of who we have been in the past and blend it with who we are today. It is about moving forward, and that's exciting."
Maree's personal future also includes a new responsibility that brings with it a sense of coming full circle.
"Back in the day, we used to have Nurse of the Year Awards sponsored by the Zonta Club – it's an international women's group – and I was a recipient of that award one year," Maree said. "Anyway, I've now become a president of one of their clubs. And it's all about enhancing and improving the lives of women internationally and very much advocating against domestic violence."
Read more about Silverchain’s rich history of care, connection and innovation.
