Connected Conversations | Paul Mcliesh

Please tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.

I’m Paul and am older than I care to admit. I live in Crafers West in the foothills on a small block with my wife Petra and our 2 dogs, Karma and Bosco. We have a bunch of critters that are part of our extended family and others that hang around the block- quails, chooks, finches, kangaroos, wild deer, cockatoos, kookaburras, foxes, galahs and the occasional brown snake. I am one of the program directors in the Adelaide Nursing School looking after the nursing Master and Graduate Diploma programs.

I have been a nurse for 34 years. I am hospital trained (at the RAH) and spent 23 years working in the Orthopaedic Trauma Department. I was a unit manager for the last 10 years running a number of very busy and exciting wards. Those experiences were some of the most challenging but fun times of my life and were absolutely rewarding. Our patients were a mixture of older people who had fallen and injured themselves and others, often younger (& yes, mostly males!) who had injured themselves in accidents (cars, motorbikes or just doing silly things).

I grew up moving around a lot with my parents, they were both social workers, so we spent time around people with alcohol addiction, mental health disorders, people with convictions or young people in trouble with the police. We lived in Papua New Guinea in my early years where I learnt a number of local languages and would hang around the local hospital that was run by an Australian doctor and nurse and their family. Maybe that is why I ended up as a nurse!           

Tell us a bit about your time at the University.

I started at the university in 2010, in a part time role coordinating the orthopaedic nursing courses. Working part time at university and running a ward at the RAH was a lot of hard work, so 2 years later I made the move to a full-time university role. In the first few years at uni I started to refine my practice as an educator. Nurses do a lot of teaching in their practice - other nurses, students, patients but we are not really taught how to teach so it was a steep learning curve, but one which I found rewarding. It was interesting going from a role where I was an expert, back to a beginner, learning how to create interesting and useful experiences for the students. I did discover that nurses have maybe learnt how to teach more than I first recognised though.

I have taught across all the programs and topics we have in the school, in simulation, in small groups, facilitating students on clinical placement, across all year levels including in the nursing program we had in Singapore. Being exposed to such a wide range of teaching activities was key in strengthening my practice as an educator. It helped me develop flexibility in how I deliver teaching experiences based on the needs of the students.

Currently I am the post registration program director and the learning and teaching lead but continue to teach into all the programs we deliver, including a range of different teaching activities. I have just submitted my PhD and am waiting to hear back from the examiners. My research considers the impact of documentation requirements on nurses’ time and patient safety. I enjoy being involved in a range of university wide activities such as communities of practice, learning and teaching activities/committees and have recently become a member of the academic board. Some of those things take a lot of time and commitment but it’s an opportunity to contribute to the broader community and perhaps change things for the better that you know don’t work as well as they could. I work with a great team in the school, we are a small group but consistently deliver programs that are leading nursing schools across Australia.  

What has been your journey to get where you are today?

In some ways I have ended up here through a sheer lack of planning. In truth, it’s probably a mixture of good choices and good luck. I have never been too strategic about my career but I guess I have made some key decisions in my life. My motto is, if in doubt (about a career option) say yes and see what happens. You never really know where you will end up and what it will be like. There are generally always options further ahead and having that type of attitude often opens up doors to those opportunities. Challenges are just opportunities waiting to be beaten, especially if you get away from worrying too much about the mundane stuff in front of you that can weigh you down. Curiosity is an essential trait to be a good nurse and is also a good motivation for life, a healthy dose of well thought out irreverence is also essential.   

I worked in a bank when I left school, then travelled with two mates for 4 months overseas in North and Central America. Before starting nursing I worked in a soft drink factory, made clothes driers, chopped firewood and worked on farms. All those things were interesting in their own way and helped make me who I am today - although putting 3 screws in the back of 100s of clothes driers every day was a bit dull at times.       

What has been your career highlight, to date?

I don’t think I can pick any one highlight. I have travelled for work a lot, presenting at conferences and working with specialist orthopaedic groups in high and low income nations. Getting outside of your usual day to day stuff and seeing how others in the world work and understand the challenges they face are powerful experiences. 

What do you love most about working at the University of Adelaide?

The tradition of an established institution is always something I have found appealing. I like the notion of adding my contribution to many others who have helped shape our community over time. But I also like innovation, so taking my contribution that is adding to those over time but reshaping it for the future to meet the needs of today is my motivation. ‘…That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse’ is one of my favourite quotes from Dead Poets Society.

I love seeing that look in students’ eyes, on their face and in their voice when they suddenly get a concept, they go beyond the process of how to do something and recognise the purpose of why we are doing that. That’s a nice feeling because you know the student will be better in their role as a nurse in the future but also because I was a part of their realisation.       

Who (or what) inspires you?

People who are motivated to try and make the lives of others and our community better. That might sound a little corny but anyone who uses the skills and knowledge they have in them and a little cleverness to inspire and support others inspires me.   

What is your favourite thing about living in Adelaide?

There are always jobs to do on our property, although I tend to make up some as excuses to go outside and run around on the Quad bike and use some piece of equipment/tool. I find working outside in the paddocks relaxing, even if it’s hard work, it takes your mind away from everything except what’s in front of you – the job for the day. Sometimes I will sit on the ground for a rest in the middle of the paddock and look at the view of the hills, the city and sea and just stare and listen to the birds. Its food for the soul! Looking at the finished job at the end of the day is truly satisfying, it’s rare to have an opportunity to see instant reward of hard work. Then when I do go to work, it’s only 25 minutes down the freeway!   

What do you hope to be doing in 10 years’ time?

Retired! Sitting on our deck at home watching the sunset and asking myself ‘how’s the serenity’- a nod to Darryl Kerrigan in the Castle. But in the back of my mind satisfied that I made an actual difference to people and to the nursing profession for time to come.