A Day in the Life of Regina Huang

Regina Huang knew from a young age the career path she wanted to take, so began training to be a nurse at 15. “I grew up in Taiwan and instead of a traditional high school I attended a boarding school for nursing attached to a hospital,” Regina said. “Nursing is 100% my passion.”

After graduating from school as an enrolled nurse, she studied to become a registered nurse in Australia, joined Lutheran Services as an aged care registered nurse in 2022 and last year completed a Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care.

To support her desire to provide advanced palliative care, Regina this year began her Masters studies to become a nurse practitioner as part of Lutheran Services’ program, which provides a team of highly skilled nurses across 11 aged care sites in metropolitan and regional Queensland.

Regina developed a keen interest in therapeutic communication during her palliative care studies. “Therapeutic communication establishes connections and encourages open dialogue with strategies that include active listening, compassion and even silence,” she said.

“Conversations around death can be difficult. I wanted to show empathy to residents at the end of life but often didn’t have the right words. I learned that sometimes all you need to do is listen and spend time with the person and their family.”

Regina Huang and Lutheran Services aged care resident.

She gives us insight into how she spends her day:

Regina works as a Floating Care Manager to support periods of staff leave at Lutheran Services sites. As a palliative care specialist, she takes a proactive approach in early conversations around advance care planning, and when a resident is facing end of life, supports them and family to discuss care goals.

There is also a lot of time spent collaborating with the wider health team to manage pain and chronic disease.

“Every morning, I meet members of the team including clinical, kitchen, lifestyle and admin staff to discuss any issues, events or tasks to do,” she said. “After that I start going through progress notes and I’ll see residents who are unwell to ensure they are receiving the best possible care.”

Regina says seeking out quiet moments with residents, families and staff is an important part of her day. “Making time for clinical staff is a priority, to mentor and educate, and I love to catch up with family members. Whenever I see visiting family, I make a point to say hello. It’s the small interactions that often mean the most.

“One day a week I spend time with my mentor to support my nurse practitioner studies. Aged care nursing is rewarding and challenging. You are in a position to make a lot of independent clinical decisions but there’s also a whole collaborative approach.”