The woman on the front lines of the Gold Coast’s addiction war
Meet Alannah Ryan. She is at the front line of the Gold Coast’s drug scourge, guiding those suffering back to health at one of the city’s largest clinics.
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AT the front line of the Gold Coast’s drug problem, nurse Alannah Ryan toils as light in the dark sector.
A nurse unit manager at the addictions ward of the Currumbin Clinic home to 35 beds, Ms Ryan and her team work to guide those suffering back to health.
Mental health care has always been a personal passion for the Gold Coast mum.
“I always wanted to work in a preventive role, not just recovery,” Ms Ryan said.
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“I have had family members that have suffered with additions, so for me it is incredibly fulfilling work.
“There are not a lot of roles where you can see the recovery process from the start to the final outcome.”
Ms Ryan was nominated for the Gold Coast Woman of the Year awards for her ability to empower the nurses around her and her limitless empathy.
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But for the humble nurse it is all part of the job.
“I think just as nurses it is in our DNA to care,” she said.
“Having an amazing team is essential to working in this environment and ensuring we don’t take our work home.
“If you come into this place with an uneducated approach, you might be impatient but our role is to be there with empathy and acceptance.
“Often people haven’t ever felt like they have been heard.”
The passionate health worker said self-confidence could often be one of the most challenging parts of the role.
“In this job you need to be emotionally comfortable with yourself and your own issues, because if you’re not that weakness will be spotted in an instant.”
The Gold Coast Bulletin’s inaugural Harvey Norman Gold Coast Women of the Year campaign celebrates the city’s leading females.
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