THE Launceston General Hospital's very own Cinderella, Anne-Maree Digney, would rather her new job as a nurse any day to Prince Charming.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
``It's the realisation of a life long dream,'' she said this week.
But just like Cinderella, Ms Digney took a long time to get from the kitchen to a place where she hopes to live happily ever after.
The newly graduated Launceston nurse first started working at the LGH in 2002 in food services.
``I delivered meals to patients and helped plate up dishes,'' she said.
``I'd had a wide and varied range of jobs since leaving high school in 1984 - mostly in hospitality.''
But nursing was something that she had always wanted to do.
``I remember saying to my nan when I was a little girl that when I grew up I would be a nurse and look after her,'' she said.
First though she fell in love and married her husband Craig 25 years ago, travelled and worked everywhere from hotels to casinos.
``I was a kitchen hand doing dishes through to working as a cook and doing my barista training,'' she said
She applied for a food services job at the LGH 11 years ago because she thought that it would take her closer to her dream.
She also worked as a wards clerk before successfully applying for a hospital aid job as a way to find out if she really wanted to pursue her dream.
``I thought that by working closely with nurses, I would see if nursing was what I really wanted,'' she said.
It was - and the rest is history.
She started work at the LGH - again - at the start of the year as a registered nurse after graduating in December.
``The hardest part about going to university was writing essays again - I left school in 1984 when they were only just introducing bibliographies and here was I having to learn academic referencing,'' she said.
Ms Digney said her husband and daughters, now 21 and 18, were excited and proud when she graduated.