University of Sydney nursing graduate Jacinta Mackay's passion to help others is what drove her to complete her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Nursing in 2018.

What she didn't realise though was how her career post-studies would pan out once her double degree was obtained.

Originally, Jacinta thought helping others would be through working in paramedicine, but life had other ideas.

“I’ve had a privileged life, and I believe it’s important to use that privilege to help others,” says Wiradjuri woman Jacinta Mackay.

“Initially, I enrolled in a nursing degree with the intention of transferring later.

"However, as I progressed, I realised nursing offered a diverse and rewarding career path that allowed me to travel and work across many areas of health.

"It turned out to be the perfect fit.”

After completing her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Nursing degree, Jacinta undertook volunteer nursing in Papua New Guinea and also spent time working in hospitals in New South Wales.

Then, in early 2020, everything changed.

“The hospital I worked at asked if I would help to screen passengers at Sydney Airport for a new respiratory disease,” recalls Jacinta.

That disease was COVID-19, and it saw Jacinta endure a trial by fire in the early stages of her nursing career.  

Jacinta worked in swabbing clinics and hospitals, caring for some of the first COVID cases in the country.

Eventually she was brought on to relieve nurses who were experiencing burnout during Melbourne’s major outbreak.

“It was a very unknown situation, and I was shocked by just how much these waves had affected the nursing staff in Melbourne.," says Jacinta.

She also took ICU contracts in regional and tertiary hospitals across New South Wales and Queensland.

“It was a challenging and exhausting time, but it was also incredibly rewarding,” reflects Jacinta.

Jacinta believes that her previous study of both history and nursing gave her a very unique perspective on her experience of working in the nursing profession during COVID.

“I recognised that we were living through a major historical moment and that future generations would look back on the work and attitudes of nurses during this time,” says Jacinta. 

Since graduating from the University of Sydney, Jacinta has completed a Diploma in Sustainable Living and a Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing.

In 2023 she began her PhD at the University of Wollongong where she is drawing on her previous study, as well as her own culture in understanding how history can inform nursing and midwifery care.

Jacinta’s research centres around the people of the Dhurga and Dharawal language groups and is grounded in their vast knowledge and their connection to Country and culture.

Jacinta explains that her PhD has given her the chance to explore her Aboriginal culture and further her career as a nursing academic.

“While working in a regional area of New South Wales, I realised that when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people came into care, I often didn’t know what to say or how to make their experience better," explains Jacinta.

"If I felt that way as an Aboriginal nurse, I knew non-Indigenous nurses must be struggling even more.”

After speaking with members of the local Community and examining the statistics, Jacinta realised nurses needed better tools to provide culturally safe care, and that truth-telling is a critical part of this.

“That’s why I chose to pursue a PhD, to help create culturally safe spaces for Community in hospitals and to support truth-telling in healthcare settings,” says Jacinta.

Her research has taken her to various places near and far.

She is currently teaching in pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Sydney Susan Waikil School of Nursing and Midwifery as well as completing her PhD.

This has taken her to the archives at St Andrews University in Scotland as well as attending the International Council of Nursing conference in Helsinki.

“I truly believe that nurses are incredible people and getting to help shape the nurses in the top-ranked nursing school in Australia is a real privilege,” muses Jacinta.