Queensland IVF patients can draw on Judith Applegarth's broad health experience but they might occasionally need her ability to focus on a target as well.

You see, Judith has managed to become a multi-skilled nurse and midwife while also reaching state and national competition level in target shooting.

Judith Applegarth

Her current role is Clinic Manager and IVF nurse for Monash IVF Rockhampton & Townsville.

Not content to rest on her laurels, Judith maintains her acute care clinical skills by doing casual work at Hillcrest Private Hospital Operating Rooms as well as with the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS).

She has also embarked on PhD research on the role of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) nurse, via CQUniversity.

"I started my working life as phlebotomist (an individual trained to draw blood) and lab assistant for a pathology company," Judith said.

"I then undertook hospital-based nursing training."

Judith has extensive clinical experience and her clinical skills include: Emergency Department; ICU; Operating Rooms; Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing; and nursing management and education.

Judith Applegarth in competition mode

Along the way, she has completed a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing); Graduate Certificate in Child & Family Health; Graduate Diploma in Health Informatics; and Masters in Clinical Practice (Nursing). She has also worked as an academic at CQUniversity.

According to Judith, the ART nurses role is predominantly focused on co-ordination and management of patient treatment cycles.

A key focus is patient support and education.

Her PhD study aims to gain an understanding of Australian ART nursing practice by examining ART nurses' perceptions and clinical experiences.

"The results should inform practice development, quality assurance, education and curriculum development," Judith said.

"In turn it also has the potential to contribute to quality of care and enhance outcomes for patients accessing ART treatments."

It is now 30 years since the world's first in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) baby, Louise Brown, made history when she was born on 25th July 1978. Her birth resulted from  ten years of research and clinical trials by Gynaecologist Dr Patrick Steptoe and Scientist Dr Robert Edwards. In Australia, IVF research and treatments for infertility were pioneered by Professors Carl Wood and Alan Trounson and colleagues from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University. They began their work in 1971 and Australia's first (and the world's third) IVF baby Candice Reed was born on the 23rd June 1980.

IVF is now commonly known as Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) as it encompasses an extensive range of treatment options.