Nursing educator Karley Coombs brings to the classroom a wealth of knowledge and expertise, including the experience of having been a SuniTAFE student herself.  

Karley was first inspired to pursue nursing after her own experience of being cared for in hospital by nurses who were kind and understanding.  

“I suffered an accident and when I was in hospital I saw everything the nurses did for me and I thought they were pretty special,” she said.  

“I felt the impact they had on me, and I decided I wanted to have that same impact on other patients.” 

Karley completed her Diploma of Nursing (HLT54121) at SuniTAFE in 2015, then went on to do her Bachelor of Nursing with La Trobe University and has spent most of her career since in emergency nursing.  

While in industry, Karley often had students or newer nurses to teach and mentor. This brought her great joy, and after receiving feedback from her colleagues and pupils that she would be a good teacher, she decided to give this a go and has not looked back since. 

“I joined SuniTAFE as a teacher a year ago, and it has been really satisfying to impart this knowledge,” Karley said. 

“Especially when it’s a topic that’s really difficult and you can see that moment when a student gets it. It makes you feel really good. It’s also really touching when a student says thank you. That sense of job satisfaction is huge. 

“I’m so proud to contribute to building our local healthcare workforce. We’re so geographically isolated, so training local nurses and keeping them here to expand our own workforce is crucial.” 

The transition from SuniTAFE student to SuniTAFE teacher has been a positive experience for Karley, with her time as a student informing her practices today as an educator.  

“It’s so helpful having studied here myself because I’ve been able to understand what my students have gone through and I can make comparisons between where I was and where they are,” she said. 

“I have found myself often reflecting back on my own experiences and thinking about the lessons that helped me to learn and then incorporating these into my teaching.” 

When Karley reflects on her time at SuniTAFE, she acknowledges that the nursing program has changed for the better over the last few years, uplifting the quality of learning.  

“The biggest change I’ve seen is in the facilities,” she said.  

“When I was studying here, the nursing lab was located in the trades department, but now the facilities have their own space and are state of the art! 

“Our new nursing team, led by Education Delivery Manager Jayne Hunt, is really inclusive and supportive and we all have different skills and specialties. Even students have picked up on this, and the diverse areas of expertise supports their learning across different topics.” 
 

International Nurses Day 

International Nurses Day is celebrated every May and recognises the unparalleled impact that nurses have on our communities. When Karley reflects on this, the main thing that stands out to her is the resilience of nurses across Australia.  

“Without nurses, our world would be chaos,” she said.  

“People wouldn’t heal as well as they do, they would be sicker. We work alongside doctors and with our assessment and care of patients we really become their eyes and ears. 

“Sometimes this means holding their hand after they receive bad news or having to explain to them in simpler terms what a diagnosis will mean for them.  

“The job can be tough, but we’re tougher.” 

If you want to make an impact on your community by caring for others, SuniTAFE has a range of health and community courses available where you can learn from experienced educators like Karley, including the Diploma of Nursing (HLT54121). Visit our website for more information.