Congratulations to ZhongXiong Cai, known to his colleagues as Johnson, on his recent nomination for an award through Palliative Care Tasmania.
A Registered Nurse at Uniting AgeWell Rosetta Community, Strathglen, Johnson is driven to learning more about palliative care and passionate about providing the best possible experience for people at end of life.
His dedication and appetite for learning led to his award nomination by the Specialist Palliative Care Service of the Tasmanian Health Service. Johnson participates in monthly sessions with the service to consult and share information on the best approaches to all aspects of palliative care.
Denise Hallam, Residential Services Manager at Rosetta Community, Strathglen says Johnson is held in very high regard and believes his approach to individualised care has enhanced the response at Strathglen.
“It is very apparent that this area of expertise is Johnson’s passion and he takes it very seriously. I have confidence and respect in his ability to work collaboratively whilst supporting and educating his colleagues.”
Johnson admits palliative care is an area of aged care where he wants to spend his time to learn and contribute.
In 2022 he received a scholarship through Palliative Care Tasmania, enabling him to undertake postgraduate studies part-time through Flinders University. Originally from Singapore, where he worked as an RN in hospitals, Johnson came to Australia through a graduate entry to practice, completing a Master of Nursing at University of Melbourne, before making the permanent move to Tasmania.
At Strathglen, Johnson strives to deliver excellent care to residents from a clinical perspective but also looks at how he can make a difference to those who are palliative.
“I believe as a sector, there is a lot of work to be done in implementing strategies to improve end of life. We need to recognise palliative care can be over years, months or days.”
Johnson has worked at Uniting AgeWell for over a year now and says he’s had a lot of support from senior staff to further his area of interest.
“My clinical manager Wendy Chamberlain has encouraged me on different opportunities at Uniting AgeWell. I want to see how far I can go with what I’d like to do. I was surprised by the award nomination and am determined to look at ways to facilitate a better experience for residents, not just in their last few days.”
Learn more about careers at Uniting AgeWell