Tristan Baczyk

Tristan had always wanted to do something to make a difference and to help people in need, and Monash’s Bachelor of Nursing presented an accessible, fulfilling solution. The ability to manage different specialisations within nursing and try different areas was also a great selling point for Tristan.

“I enjoyed that there were a lot of practical aspects to the course, including placements, labs and practical scenarios. This meant that I could get hands-on and link my theory to practice, Monash had great facilities to do this as well which made it as close as it could be to the real deal.”

Tristan’s study period was far from easy, in no small part due to the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. Two out of the three years of his coursework were undertaken online, limiting some of the opportunities to socialise in person with his classmates. Even with the challenges of remote study, Tristan managed to graduate with a full set of practical skills relevant to his future career.

“Although my current role is specialised, Monash helped set the foundations of my nursing knowledge. They taught me many valuable practical skills, as well as bedside manner and how to notice and respond to deteriorating patients. Due to all the practical simulations that were done during my course, I was well-versed in different situations and was able to apply this to my practice in the workforce.”

Nowadays, Tristan is hard at work in the chemotherapy day unit at Peninsula Health. After doing a six-month rotation there, he found that he loved the work and wanted to continue. His role requires him to demonstrate an incredible amount of patience and care for his patients, as he explains.

“A normal day for me will look like me treating four to six patients, varied by having patients who are for an hour or potentially the whole day depending on their regime. It is my job to make sure they are stable throughout their treatment, support them through their treatment and make sure they are coping okay between their treatments as well. I also have the opportunity to educate patients who are newly starting their treatment on what to expect and ensure they are supported throughout their treatment and reassured before they start treatment as this can be very daunting.”

In addition to his full-time nursing role, Tristan is currently balancing work in the chemotherapy unit with postgraduate studies in oncology nursing to further his career. Though it’s challenging studying and working at the same time, Tristan still holds a great passion for everything he does. He even manages to fit in time to train for a half marathon.

After finishing his oncology nursing degree, Tristan aims to become an oncology clinical nurse specialist, and perhaps even stepping into the educational space, teaching the next generation of nursing students as a hospital educator.

To others looking to study nursing, Tristan had the following advice:

“I would say make the most of the supports Monash has available to you, especially the peer mentoring program.”

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