Back

Rebecca May

Acting Nursing Service Director

Bec is the Acting Nursing Service Director of the State wide Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in South Australia.  She has a Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care, Graduate Certificate in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing and Diploma of Leadership & Management.

Prior to working in palliative care, Bec was a neonatal intensive care nurse for 10 years.  Early in her neonatal nursing career, she recognised a gap in service provision for families experiencing the loss of a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit.  She led and developed many projects focused on improving the services for families facing the loss of a baby and support for the health care professionals.  This included the implementation and evaluation of a validated pain assessment tool, the evaluation of neonatal nurse’s experience in providing palliative care in the NICU and the development of a dedicated family / palliative care space within the nursery.  She worked collaboratively with consumers in response to a recognised need.

Bec has co-authored a chapter in a neonatal intensive care textbook  focused on palliative care and contributed to research looking at the experiences of families receiving palliative care in the NICU.  She is leading the development of a state wide perinatal palliative care pathway for families diagnosed with a life limiting condition during pregnancy; a collaboration between Paediatric Palliative Care, Obstetrics / Maternal Fetal Medicine & Neonatology.

Bec is a strong advocate for ensuring all neonates, children, adolescents and young adults living with a life limiting condition and their families receive fair and equitable care and support.