Donna with her mum, Elaine Belson, at the graduation ceremony. Photo: Supplied.
A former Griffith resident has overcome a freak accident in which she broke both her legs after being attacked by a ram to complete a nursing degree at the University of Wollongong (UOW).
Donna Tonkin, 40, took the plunge to start a new career in medicine after leaving Griffith for Nowra in 2022. But soon after starting her course of study, she was hit with tragedy.
“I was only three days into my first regional nursing placement at Goulburn Hospital when I was attacked by a ram and broke both my legs,” she said.
Lying in a hospital bed, overlooking the mental health facility where she was meant to be undertaking her placement was challenging, she said.
“My husband is a church pastor of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, and after my accident there were pastors and church members across the country praying for me, sending cards, flowers, gifts, and visiting.”
After spending 25 days in hospital, Ms Tonkin was bed-bound for a further seven weeks until she started rehabilitation to learn to walk again.
“I was confined to a bed at home; it was frustrating. I started third-year nursing in a wheelchair,” she said.
“Nothing was going to stop me though. Because I wanted to study medicine, I booked my GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test) not knowing if I’d be able to walk into the building and actually sit the exam.”
Donna Tonkin would like to help out in a rural area. Photo: Supplied.
She tweaked her schedule, pushing her placements as close to the end of her degree as possible to ensure she could walk and stand for the 440 hours it took to complete her remaining three nursing rotations.
“All the tutors were amazing and so supportive. They adjusted things so I could do labs in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks,” she said.
Despite the setbacks, Ms Tonkin says she has no regrets about returning to study as a mature-age student. She encourages others to do the same.
“I would say by the time you finish studying, if you get one year in a job you love, it’s better than ending your career in a job you hate,” she said.
“When I graduate, I’ll still have more than 20 years in a career, so it’s more than worth it.
“I’ve had my kids; I’m not trying to fit that in; I can go for gold and do what I want.”
Living in Griffith for six years due to her husband’s work placement taught her how challenging it is to access a rural healthcare system plagued by constant staff shortages. That’s partly what motivated her to do nursing, which she sees as a pathway to medicine.
“I’m studying medicine now; I started last week. I love the idea of going rural and helping in an area where we are needed. It all depends on my husband’s work, but I could see myself returning to somewhere like the Riverina,” she said.
Ms Tonkin has now embarked on post-graduate study at UOW Shoalhaven, undertaking a Doctor of Medicine.
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