Welcome to another Episode of Talking Gut. Todays talk is about Entero-stomal Therapy. My two guests today are both Stomal therapy nurses at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond  Melbourne.

Jackie Berryman is one of two Stomal Therapy Nurses at Epworth Richmond. Jackie came to nursing later in life after many years within the corporate world. She utilized her Arts Degree to enter a Masters of Nursing Science which is a 2 year entry to practice course. In 2011, at the age of 48, Jackie did her graduate nursing at Peter MacCallum and then went on to complete the Graduate Certificate of Stomal Therapy Nursing.

Jackie has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Melbourne (also completed as a mature age student), a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management from Swinburne University of Technology, Masters in Nursing Science and a Graduate Certificate in Stomal Therapy Nursing. She is currently the Treasurer for the Victorian branch of the Australian Association of Stomal Therapy Nurses.

Renuka Clarke is the other Stomal Therapy nurse at Epworth Richmond. Renuka has been a nurse for 40 years and still loves it.  The last 12 years has been as a Stomal Therapy Nurse.

Renuka has a diverse nursing background commencing in Townsville and then a post graduate placement with Mother Teresa in Kolkata, India.  She returned to Melbourne to work in a variety of general nursing roles culminating in Stomal Therapy.

In todays talk we discussed what a stoma is, what’s involved in the process of getting a stoma and the role of the nurses that help patients pre and post-surgery. We also discussed some of the challenges individual with Stomas can face and how these incredible nurses help them manage them.