Murrumbidgee Local Health District’s wound and stoma stream clinical nurse consultants Karyn Bowering, Amy-lea Post, Carlie Davis, Naomi Smith, Ray Godbier and Irene Cozens. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) nurses put on their baking aprons to bake the most unique looking, delicious cakes to reduce the stigma around stoma.
For Stoma Awareness Week, MLHD wound and stoma nurses held a bake-off, baking some of the most creative cakes – a giant poo emoji, bowel cancer, a stoma and tiny poo emoji cupcakes.
MLHD wound and stoma stream nurse manager Amy-Lea Post said a stoma was created during surgery.
“It’s an artificial opening that acts as an exit for body waste,” Ms Post said.
“They [stomas] are required for cancer, congenital disorders, disease and trauma.
“We have over 400 people in Murrumbidgee Local Health District with stoma. A very large amount.”
Ms Post said the bake-off helped to promote the team to everyone in the hospital.
“They (nurses) are passionate about trying to make one that looks exactly like it,” Ms Post said. “We have ones that are in different types of stoma bags, a variety of different cupcakes and not so appealing looking slices.
“It helps create awareness for the patients and promote it within the community so they don’t have to be embarrassed or hide the fact they have a stoma,” Ms Post explained.
“We’ve all been delving into education to try and promote the carer and the family in order to get the patients to self-manage as best as possible so they can resume their normal lifestyle.”
Ms Post said MLHD provided outreach services by visiting patients in their homes to ensure they felt supported and comfortable managing their condition.
“We do a lot of education with a carer or loved one so they are aware of how to troubleshoot if things go wrong,” she said.
“Usually, they’re pretty straightforward, but we educate them well about warning signs and things that might occur in the early months of a new stoma.
Ms Post said the bake-off also aimed at trying to appeal to other nurses to specialise in stoma and wound care.
“It is a rewarding area of nursing and we’re very grateful we have a beautiful team of stoma and wound nurses,” she said.
“They are there to make the hard times less hard for patients.”
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