St John Health’s Colleen Henderson calls time on remarkable nursing career
After more than five decades of caring for patients and sharing a lifetime of nursing knowledge, St John WA nurse Colleen Henderson is preparing to hang up her uniform.
Colleen will retire from St John Urgent Care Cockburn on November 8, bringing to a close an incredible nursing career that began in New Zealand in 1974, when she was just 17 years old.
From delivering a baby in a car to caring for critically ill patients, Colleen has experienced plenty of memorable moments and witnessed enormous changes in healthcare.
But it’s the relationships she’s built that have left the biggest impression.
She particularly remembers caring for a terminally ill patient who she hadn’t expected to survive her four days off.
When she returned to work, his family told her he had been waiting for her.
“It’s those kinds of moments way, way back that have stuck in my mind more than anything,” Colleen said.
After moving to Western Australia from New Zealand with her husband in 2012, Colleen joined St John Health at Cockburn in 2015, initially working as a GP nurse before transitioning to Urgent Care in 2017.
Over the past 11 years, she has become a familiar face to patients and an invaluable source of knowledge and support for colleagues.
Her experience has extended beyond Cockburn, with Colleen helping with plaster training across St John’s Urgent Care and GP network.
In 2024, she was recognised as a ‘St John WA Outstanding Woman’ after receiving 11 nominations from colleagues celebrating her energy, experience and clinical knowledge.
She was also named ‘Nurse of the Year’ at St John Health in Cockburn two years in a row.
Clinical Lead Nurse, Pippa Chard, said Colleen had been instrumental in her own professional development.
“I have gone to Colleen for advice on how to approach tricky situations, and she has always delivered sound advice,” Pippa said.
“She provides ‘safety and calm’ for some of our less experienced nurses, and they will gladly pick up a shift, knowing they are working with Colleen.
“There will be a mighty hole left after Colleen retires. She has left a very special and lasting legacy for everyone who has worked alongside her.”
Fellow nurse, Louise Beswick, started on the GP-side of things at the same time as Colleen in 2015.
“Colleen is the most amazing lady – warm-hearted, kind and caring,” Louise said.
“An extremely hardworking person who is made from the best stuff, a generational thing that cannot be replicated.
“She means the difference between an ok shift and a great shift.”
St John WA Medical Director – Community, Dr Jamie Stewart, has known Colleen since the early days of St John Urgent Care in Cockburn.
“I have such fond memories of working shifts with Colleen,” Jamie said.
“Seeing her on the roster with me always gave me confidence that everything would run smoothly and be well-organised, whatever came through the doors.
“We’ve been so lucky to have Colleen and I know the whole team will miss her greatly.”
For Colleen, it’s the people who have kept her at St John for more than a decade, and the relationships she’ll miss most when she finishes her final shift.
“Once you back off a bit, you realise how much of your social interaction actually happens at work,” she said.
But after more than half a century in nursing, Colleen says she’s ready for the next chapter.
And she knows the friendships she’s built will continue outside of work.
With her paramedic husband, Steve, also retiring, the couple are looking forward to travelling and spending more time with their children and grandchildren.
Their first adventure is already planned, with a European holiday taking in river cruises, Christmas markets and a trip to Finland in search of the Northern Lights.
And while she hasn’t ruled out volunteering or new hobbies in the future, for now Colleen is looking forward to slowing down and finally having some time for herself.
