Robert Fedele

After finishing a shift at Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital, enrolled nurse Talei Williams faces a dreaded commute stretching well over an hour. By the time she gets home to Waterfall, Sydney’s southernmost suburb, the 30-year-old nurse and student feels exhausted – not just from the demands of caring for others, but from the cumulative toll of simply getting to and from work.

Take us back to the beginning — what inspired you to become a nurse and midwife? My parents and grandparents, through their actions, taught me that it is important to help others, and my grandfather encouraged me to go to university. As I was nearing the end of high school, I chose nursing as it combined those things and would give me a career in which I could travel the world. As it turned out, I stuck with the career and didn’t travel until much later.

“It’s not necessarily the monetary aspect of it,” she explains, when asked what difference a pay bump would mean for her personally. “My wellbeing will improve, first and foremost. There’s a significant mental burden in not feeling valued for the work you do.