In Episode 19 of What a Stranger Told Me, Tim pulls up a chair at the Gympie Muster beside Jane Turner (not Kath!) – a veteran burns, ICU and emergency nurse who has spent decades on the absolute frontline of human suffering, and is now finally kicking back with a cold beer and a good book.

Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience & daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill wander the streets of Australia, microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.

It's conversations... with everyday people.

 

 

Jane started in New Zealand when the Christchurch burns unit took overflow patients Australia couldn’t handle after the 2002 Bali bombings. She was part of the small volunteer “Bratz team” that met planes at 3 a.m., triaged horrific injuries, and fought to keep young lives together. To this day, whenever she visits Bali she visits the memorial – the emotional pull is still raw.

She’s seen burns care change dramatically (“We treat them completely differently now”), worked the old-school graft of daily dressing marathons, and held more hands through unimaginable pain than most of us could imagine. Yet she insists the job always came back to basics: care hard, do your best, be the patient’s advocate, then go home and sleep.

After a lifetime of 12-hour shifts in burns, plastics, emergency and intensive care, Jane has zero regrets and zero burnout. “As long as you care, you’re good enough,” she says. Policies come and go, but the fundamentals never change – and that goes for every job, not just nursing.

Now she’s exactly where she wants to be: same campsite, same mates, same morning ritual of cracking a breakfast beer while someone else cooks (and someone else cleans up). The woman who once raced to save blast victims is finally, joyfully, off the clock – and loving every second of it.

 

Chapters
00:00 – Beer, Book and a Burns Nurse at Gympie
00:40 – “Yes, I get the Kath & Kim joke daily”
01:20 – Bali Bombings: The Night NZ Took Australia’s Overflow
02:30 – Being on the Volunteer “Bratz Team” at 3 a.m.
04:10 – How Burns Care Has Completely Changed
05:40 – 12-Hour Shifts, ICU, Emergency – Why She Stayed
07:20 – The One Rule: Care Hard, Then Go Home
08:30 – Breakfast Beers and Zero Regrets at the Muster

 

Key Insights
Bali bombings created lifelong emotional ties – many nurses still visit the memorial
Burns nursing has transformed – modern treatment is worlds away from 2002 methods
Best nursing advice ever: “As long as you care, you’re good enough”
Be the patient and family advocate – everything else is secondary
After decades on the frontline, the perfect retirement is cold beer and old friends at sunrise

 

🎙️ Want more, Stranger?

Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid & Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up here.

📸  Join us behind-the-scenes

Follow the What a StrangerTold Me podcast madness on Instagram.

☎️  Got a story you'd love to share?

Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.

👽  Don’t be a stranger

Got some feedback? Bring it on. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)

🤩  Who’s behind all this strangeness?

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto
Photography by Will Reid & Andy McColl

In Episode 19 of What a Stranger Told Me, Tim pulls up a chair at the Gympie Muster beside Jane Turner (not Kath!) &ndash; a veteran burns, ICU and emergency nurse who has spent decades on the absolute frontline of human suffering, and is now finally kicking back with a cold beer and a good book.
Ready for some stranger stories? Personal stories of love, resilience &amp; daring unfold in this loveable podcast, as story-collectors <a href="https://whatastrangertoldme.com/about/">Tim Reid &amp; Jon Coghill</a> wander the streets of Australia, microphone in hand, chatting to strangers.
It's conversations... with everyday people.
&nbsp;
<hr>
&nbsp;
Jane started in New Zealand when the Christchurch burns unit took overflow patients Australia couldn&rsquo;t handle after the 2002 Bali bombings. She was part of the small volunteer &ldquo;Bratz team&rdquo; that met planes at 3 a.m., triaged horrific injuries, and fought to keep young lives together. To this day, whenever she visits Bali she visits the memorial &ndash; the emotional pull is still raw.
She&rsquo;s seen burns care change dramatically (&ldquo;We treat them completely differently now&rdquo;), worked the old-school graft of daily dressing marathons, and held more hands through unimaginable pain than most of us could imagine. Yet she insists the job always came back to basics: care hard, do your best, be the patient&rsquo;s advocate, then go home and sleep.
After a lifetime of 12-hour shifts in burns, plastics, emergency and intensive care, Jane has zero regrets and zero burnout. &ldquo;As long as you care, you&rsquo;re good enough,&rdquo; she says. Policies come and go, but the fundamentals never change &ndash; and that goes for every job, not just nursing.
Now she&rsquo;s exactly where she wants to be: same campsite, same mates, same morning ritual of cracking a breakfast beer while someone else cooks (and someone else cleans up). The woman who once raced to save blast victims is finally, joyfully, off the clock &ndash; and loving every second of it.
&nbsp;
Chapters
<ul dir="ltr">
<li>00:00 &ndash; Beer, Book and a Burns Nurse at Gympie</li>
<li>00:40 &ndash; &ldquo;Yes, I get the Kath &amp; Kim joke daily&rdquo;</li>
<li>01:20 &ndash; Bali Bombings: The Night NZ Took Australia&rsquo;s Overflow</li>
<li>02:30 &ndash; Being on the Volunteer &ldquo;Bratz Team&rdquo; at 3 a.m.</li>
<li>04:10 &ndash; How Burns Care Has Completely Changed</li>
<li>05:40 &ndash; 12-Hour Shifts, ICU, Emergency &ndash; Why She Stayed</li>
<li>07:20 &ndash; The One Rule: Care Hard, Then Go Home</li>
<li>08:30 &ndash; Breakfast Beers and Zero Regrets at the Muster</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Key Insights
<ul>
<li>Bali bombings created lifelong emotional ties &ndash; many nurses still visit the memorial</li>
<li>Burns nursing has transformed &ndash; modern treatment is worlds away from 2002 methods</li>
<li>Best nursing advice ever: &ldquo;As long as you care, you&rsquo;re good enough&rdquo;</li>
<li>Be the patient and family advocate &ndash; everything else is secondary</li>
<li>After decades on the frontline, the perfect retirement is cold beer and old friends at sunrise</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
🎙️&nbsp;Want more, Stranger?
Like the idea of story-collectors Tim Reid &amp; Jon Coghill chatting to attendees at your next conference or event? Or maybe you'd like them to chat to strangers in your part of the world. Hit them up <a href="https://whatastrangertoldme.com/contact/">here</a>.
📸&nbsp; Join us behind-the-scenes
Follow the What a StrangerTold Me podcast madness on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whatastrangertoldme">Instagram</a>.
☎️&nbsp; Got a story you'd love to share?
Call us +61 489 272 286. You've got a whopping 10-minutes, so sit back, take a big breath and go for gold.
👽&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t be a stranger
Got some feedback? <a href="https://whatastrangertoldme.com/contact/">Bring it on</a>. Just be gentle. One of us has thin skin ;)
🤩&nbsp; Who&rsquo;s behind all this strangeness?
Made &amp; Hosted by Tim Reid &amp; Jon Coghill Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto Photography by Will Reid &amp; Andy McColl

Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages & backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you’d never otherwise meet.

And if you’ve got a story you’d love the world to hear, then call us on +61 489 272 286.

Or maybe you'd like us to chat to strangers in your town, or maybe you’ve got a conference you’d like us to podcast from, then contact us at What a Stranger Told Me.

Credits ...

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill

Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto

Photography by Andy McColl & Will Reid

 

Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages &amp; backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you&rsquo;d never otherwise meet.
And if you&rsquo;ve got a story you&rsquo;d love the world to hear, then call us on +61 489 272 286.
Or maybe you'd like us to chat to strangers in your town, or maybe you&rsquo;ve got a conference you&rsquo;d like us to podcast from, then contact us at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.whatastrangertoldme.com">What a Stranger Told Me</a>.
Credits ...
Made &amp; Hosted by Tim Reid &amp; Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Dennis Feletto
Photography by Andy McColl &amp; Will Reid
&nbsp;

Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages & backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you’d never otherwise meet.

What a Stranger Told Me

Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages & backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you’d never otherwise meet.

Take a break from the everyday, and dive into the lives of people you’d never otherwise meet.

And if you’ve got a story you’d love the world to hear, then call us on +61 489 272 286.

Or maybe you'd like us to chat to strangers in your town, or maybe you’ve got a conference you’d like us to podcast from, then contact us at What a Stranger Told Me.

Credits ...

Made & Hosted by Tim Reid & Jon Coghill

Music Supervision by Denis Feletto

Photography by Andy McColl & Will Reid

Storytelling meets human connection in this intriguing Australian podcast. Hosts Jon Coghill (Powderfinger) and Tim Reid (award-winning podcaster) travel around chatting with strangers of all ages &amp; backgrounds - uncovering their raw, unique, and very personal stories. Take a break from the everyday, and dive into lives of people you&rsquo;d never otherwise meet.
Take a break from the everyday, and dive into the lives of people you&rsquo;d never otherwise meet.
And if you&rsquo;ve got a story you&rsquo;d love the world to hear, then call us on +61 489 272 286.
Or maybe you'd like us to chat to strangers in your town, or maybe you&rsquo;ve got a conference you&rsquo;d like us to podcast from, then contact us at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.whatastrangertoldme.com">What a Stranger Told Me</a>.
Credits ...
Made &amp; Hosted by Tim Reid &amp; Jon Coghill
Music Supervision by Denis Feletto
Photography by Andy McColl &amp; Will Reid

Tim sits down with Jane Turner at the Gympie Music Muster – a no-nonsense burns, ICU and emergency nurse who spent decades running toward the fires while the rest of us would run away. Now she’s finally, gloriously, off duty with a cold beer in one hand and a paperback in the other. It's episode 19 of the What a Stranger Told Me podcast.