Tina Chang

I am originally from Taiwan and came to Australia when I was in Year 12. Before entering my nursing degree at UTS, I studied Foundation Studies at UTS College. When I was choosing which university degree to go into, I remember using a process of elimination – the final two remaining areas were ‘health’ and ‘education’. I think a degree in health can easily help me transfer into education down the line; but choosing education first may have made it a slightly harder path for me to changeover to health in future. That’s why I ended up choosing nursing!

I chose to study at UTS because it ranks very highly. Not only is it the top young university, UTS nursing is #1 in Australia. Something I’ve found I like about studying here, is the multicultural environment. This is very different back home, so it is amazing to experience people from different nationalities respecting and helping each other out.

I think nursing is a broad course that can lead me to any health-related career. I am exploring the health sector bit-by-bit through nursing, especially during my clinical placements where I’m able to learn in different settings and within multidisciplinary teams.

As an individual who’d never entered a hospital before, it can feel a little overwhelming at first, but my clinical placements have all been so rewarding.  We get to meet people from various backgrounds, and we often meet patients and their families at times when they are at their most vulnerable.

Empathy is one of the core values I’ve learned. In nursing, we always try to put ourselves in people’s shoes to deliver the best care we can. Being able to accompany patients and their families through their highs and lows is a huge privilege. The big smile on their face when they’re discharged is definitely the most rewarding part.

Now that I’m in my final year, I feel that my ability to work effectively within a team has really developed. In order to deliver an excellent standard of health care, collaboration among patients, their families and the multidisciplinary team is essential. Teamwork is important at uni too, especially in group work tasks.  I feel I’ve been able to develop my negotiation and organisational skills as well as teamwork during my time here, which I will utilise in my future nursing practice.

There’s a lot of advice that I could share with future nursing students, but as an international student, something I highly recommend is that you make the effort to make friends from different cultural backgrounds to your own. Join societies and get involved in uni activities! This will really help you to broaden your perspective and practise your English. In turn, if you are a local student, chat with students from different nationalities. You’ll learn about different cultures and languages, and it will give you great experience before you go on clinical placements and meet with patients, families and health care workers from around the world!

Find out more about the Bachelor of Nursing at UTS