Being involved and making a difference in people's lives first drew Vicki to the profession and the same motivation and rewards have kept her focused on nursing decades later.

Vicki is about six weeks into her new job as Port Macquarie Base Hospital director of nursing and midwifery.

Involvement in patient care and working alongside the nursing and midwifery staff attracted her to the position.

"They are a great team and they are very passionate about what they do," she says about the staff.

"I've held senior positions before and I really enjoy the operational side of the work."

Vicki was previously a nurse manager in a district capacity with the Mid North Coast Local Health District and has a range of nursing experience under her belt.

She grew up in Kempsey and completed her initial training at Kurri Kurri Hospital, before working in critical care and pathology on the Central Coast.

Vicki had responsibility for hundreds of nurses when she worked for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.

She also worked in the Salvation Army's aged care division.

Much has changed in nursing since the days of hospital-based training when Vicki completed her initial nursing training.

There was one registered nurse in each ward with much of the load falling to student nurses and enrolled nurses.

The nurses were responsible for the cooking and distributing meals, in addition to patient care, and the system didn't have the same multi-disciplinary focus as it does today.

"The patient care is the same but obviously the intervention as technology and medicine have moved on has become more technical," she said.

"We are getting better patient outcomes."

Nurses today have more of a say in patient care and are advocates for their patients.

Vicki is passionate about closing the gap and was heavily involved in previous roles with Aboriginal nursing and midwifery cadets.

She views the director of nursing's role as supporting the frontline nurses and midwives to deliver the best care to the patients, and leading innovation, research and models of care.

"I've been blessed," Vicki says.

"I've got a great team and I am really looking forward to working with them.

"They have been very supportive and welcoming."

Port Macquarie Base Hospital has about 600 nurses and midwives.

The dedication of staff was highlighted through the first-ever hospital fete which was organised and staged thanks to the nurses' efforts.

Vicki joins the team in Port Macquarie Base Hospital's 20th year and at the time of the $110 million expansion.

"It's absolutely state of the art," she says about the hospital expansion.

Meanwhile, a focus on workforce planning across the health district has included taking on more graduate nurses and offering part-time positions.

Former Port Macquarie Base Hospital director of nursing Terry O'Shea is now the executive manager of Kempsey District Hospital.