1995: Nursing a good cause

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Tags: nursing, summer-2011

Andrew Cameron, Master of Tropical Health

Andrew Cameron assisting a local in South Ossetia

There’s never a dull moment for Andrew Cameron.

The award-winning nurse is currently in a remote village in South Ossetia (former USSR) distributing seed potatoes to those cut off by the 2008 South Ossetia War.

But it’s not unusual for Mr Cameron to go above and beyond the call of duty, which hasn’t gone unoticed. He is a recipient of the Gary Quayle Memorial Prize for Excellence in Research and most recently, was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal – the highest international distinction in nursing.

It was Mr Cameron’s drive that led him to become a nurse in remote areas of Australia, which, although at times challenging, was ultimately rewarding.

“I was the Director of Nursing at Mornington Island Hospital for seven years, which was an exceedingly difficult job, but I stuck with it and managed well,” Mr Cameron said.

He then became a registered midwife, working in a labour ward for two years.

“Not an easy road for a male, but I did it,” he said.

Always ready for a new challenge, Mr Cameron went on to work as the sole nurse in the historic township of Cue in Western Australia.

“While I was there, I was voted Australian Nurse of the Year in 2004. There are over 300,000 nurses in Australia, so I felt honoured to be the one chosen,” he said.

Over the past six years, Mr Cameron has worked as a nurse with the International Committee of the Red Cross and is often sent to conflict-affected countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, with the main objective to assist and protect victims of war.

“The best part of my job is the sense that I have helped someone – a family, or a community – even if in some small way,” he said.

Now in South Ossetia, a land still struggling after the war, Mr Cameron is working with all manner of unusual and complex problems.

“These are people who have not had the same opportunities as we have had, people who suffer in their day-to-day lives and who are victims of war,” he said.

So what’s next for the inspirational nurse?

“Some day I’d like to return to UQ and take on studies to do a PhD – before I get too old,” he said.

By Ingrid Rubie

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