Operating theatre nurses volunteer across the seas

When Indra Jolayemi travelled to Tonga it marked the 12th time in 11 years as a volunteer, while when Dionne Smithwick spent three weeks in Madagascar volunteering with Mercy Ships, it marked her third assignment with the international development organisation. Dionne and Indra are recurrent volunteers — taking their skills to international communities where access to health care is limited, assisting in lifesaving and life-changing surgeries.

Both Dionne and Indra are operating theatre nurses at Casey Hospital — Indra at the Victorian Heart Hospital as well. In Tonga, Indra has assisted in surgeries for mainly urological conditions. In addition to carrying out surgeries, the team of volunteers in Tonga also helped upskill local staff, making care more sustainable. “Volunteering is amazing,” Indra said. “You go out of your comfort zone; you become very innovative. You bring that creativeness back. You juggle and think wider.”

Indra in theatre at Monash Health.

In Madagascar in September 2024, Dionne assisted in a variety of surgeries, including paediatric orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. “You learn so much and you are able to give so much back,” Dionne said, having performed the roles of scrub nurse and circulation nurse in the operating theatre as part of previous stints with the organisation that saw her travel to Senegal and Sierra Leone. “It is just so rewarding,” Dionne said. “The organisation helps people who have absolutely nothing and no other means of health care, and [the patients] are just so grateful.”

Speaking about these nurses’ recurrent international volunteering, Casey Hospital Acting General Manager Annie Sherry said it “not only enriches the lives of the people they help” but also “fosters innovation” and gives the volunteer a broader perspective, which has benefits for the hospital as well as it “enhances our ability to deliver exceptional care to our patients”.

“We are grateful for their commitment and the positive impact they make both globally and locally,” Sherry added.

Top image: Nurses Indra and Dionne (left to right).