Episode 29 Kylie Long - How Kylie Built a Second Career Without Letting Go of Her First

In this episode of Your Nurse Voice Matters, Wendy sits down with Registered Nurse and Workplace Health & Safety expert Kylie Long to explore what it truly means to expand your nursing career — without walking away from it. With over 30 years of experience in cardiac and emergency nursing, Kylie shares how her early passion for prevention and systems thinking led her into a second career in workplace health and safety. From hospitals to construction sites — including Brisbane’s Airport Link project — Kylie has applied her nursing lens to high-risk industries, helping organisations build safer, people-centred systems. But what makes Kylie’s story especially powerful is this: she never gave up her nursing registration. After nearly walking away from nursing altogether, a pivotal conversation changed her perspective. Instead of leaving nursing behind, she realised she was expanding it. By maintaining her clinical currency — even while working in other industries — Kylie created professional freedom, financial security, and a safety net during times of redundancy. In this conversation, Kylie and Wendy discuss: The shift from structured cardiac care to the chaos of emergency nursing Why prevention and systems thinking matter across industries Practical strategies for maintaining nursing registration while exploring other careers The power of transferable nursing skills in business and leadership Why flexibility is critical to retaining nurses in the workforce How keeping your registration can create long-term career security Kylie’s golden nugget for nurses at every stage? You will have to tune in to find out! This episode is a powerful reminder that nursing is not a narrow path — it’s a foundation. And sometimes, the thing you think you’re moving away from becomes the very thing that supports you most. Kylie can be contacted through LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyliealongsafetysupportsolutions/ If you know a Nurse with a story to share, contact Wendy at www.healtyoptionsnow.org