As a mature age student with work commitments and her second baby on the way, the decision to go back to study was not one that Ruth Hariyono Putri took lightly.
“I moved to Australia from Indonesia, where I already held a bachelor’s degree, but I needed to upgrade my qualification to work as a registered nurse. I chose La Trobe because I knew the University has good connections with local hospitals.”
“I studied part time because I was pregnant with my second child, which was challenging, but the support I received from my lecturers and the placement team was amazing,” she says.
Not only did Ruth graduate with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2023, but she was also the recipient of a Dean’s Scholar Award for the highest weighted average mark in her class – an incredible achievement.
During her undergraduate degree, Ruth discovered a passion for mental health nursing.
“When the opportunity to do placement at the forensic mental health hospital at Thomas Embling Hospital came up, I decided to apply and ended up doing my placement there. I loved it!”
“This experience gave me a deeper understanding of mental illness and the dual stigma that many people face when they have been in contact with the criminal justice system.”
“I also learned about the important role of mental health nurses in helping patients on their recovery journey, and how this supports them to live a meaningful life and be reintegrated into the community,” she says.
Ruth loved her placement experience so much that she successfully applied for the graduate program. She is now working as a registered psychiatric nurse and is in her first year of a Master of Mental Health Nursing.
She hopes to use this experience to support people experiencing stigma around mental health challenges.
“There is still a lot of stigma and misinformation around mental illness in Indonesia. For example, people who experience auditory hallucinations might be sent to see a shaman or to get some form of exorcism, instead of getting the mental health treatment they need,” she explains.
“I decided to become a mental health nurse to help end this stigma and make sure that patients experiencing mental health issues are supported with appropriate treatment.”
