Kaye Walker once strolled into every hospital in Launceston and told them she wanted a job as a nurse.
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By the time she walked out of Calvary St Vincent's, she had a job for life.
Fifty years after the day she went looking for a job 67-year-old Ms Walker said she never looked back as she chalked up year-after-year of friendship, reward for effort and a wealth of experience.
"The uniform was a white starched apron over a check dress with a starched cap, a starch belt and a buckle."
Ms Walker said when she entered the work force there were few options, of which her father disagree with most, and nursing most perfectly fit the bill.
After an initial four year stint at St Vincent's Ms Walker headed out to Beaconsfield for a job at the local hospital where she worked as a midwife.
"They had a casualty [ward] there and everything and I was only young. I had to deliver babies by myself and all sorts of things," she said.
One of the highlights of Ms Walker's career came after delivering a baby.
"I ran into a girl that I delivered and she was named after me and she's quite old now - she's in her 40s," Ms Walker said.
The parents named her after my second name. I must have done a good job.
- Kaye Walker
Ms Walker also filled roles at the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital, St Luke's and in aged care at Tyler Village before coming back to where it all started at Calvary to work as the after hours hospital manager.
She had maintained that role for the past seven years and acting clinical service coordinator Mark Hardy said having a nurse with Ms Walker's experience at the hospital was a benefit to the entire workplace.
"It's always beneficial to have experienced staff and Karen has a long history of nursing in different areas from aged care to acute hospital," he said.
Mr Hardy said Ms Walker's strength rested in her amenity and connection to colleagues and patients.
"She's a delight to get on with and she's a real asset to the company. She's very well liked and very much appreciated," he said.
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Though Ms Walker's service may be personified by her care and warm-hearted nature, it had not been without sadness.
Ms Walker said the role of a nurse involved experiencing countless hardships.
"It's certainly not a glamorous profession by any means," she said.
"But it's valued by the public because they're in vulnerable situations when they're here and you see some really sad things which is quite humbling, really.
"You have to deal with them and try to help people get through."
Ms Walker said in those hardships was where she realised the importance of her role and found strength to maintain her connection to the role.
We make a lot of fun because of the seriousness of nursing. I think it's important to inject that into the day, it helps to cope with things a bit.
- Kaye Walker
Though the world of nursing Ms Walker entered into 50 years ago was worlds away from what it had become.
"It's just completely different," she said.
"We used to do everything physically - multitudes of cleaning and multitudes of different things which aren't so prevalent now."
While Ms Walker admitted nursing was different, she said sharing of knowledge from older to younger nurses and vice-versa to adapt to changes was a hallmark of the occupation.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmania branch secretary Emily Shepherd said nurses like Ms Walker contributing to their role for so long was important for the profession as a whole.
"Especially in an environment when many of our experiences nurses and midwives are retiring, the longer these extremely skilled and knowledgeable nurse and midwives stay in the profession the better," she said.
"It allows sharing of their knowledge and skills with the next generation of senior nurses and midwives."
Ms Shepherd said nurses who had been in their role for long periods of time had the capacity to provide stability and consistency to their workplace, which could not be over stated in the high stakes environment of nursing.
In terms of how a nurse like Ms Walker contributed to the nursing profession in general, Ms Shepherd said it allowed sustainability and stability across the board while also speaking volumes of the role.
"A long career says a lot about the individual nurse and their dedication to their profession. It highlights the incredible selflessness and resilience of the nurse [and] also highlights that, despite the challenges, nurses and midwives take great satisfaction from using their expert skills and knowledge to help others," she said.
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