The Story Behind the Fwards app - Part 1 of 5

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I’d build an app. 

As a country lad, milking cows - I would often be seen getting lost in my own thoughts and dreaming of bigger things, but becoming a founder of a technology startup is still often hard to believe.

What remains true is a deep desire to be more to myself and others around me.

Looking back on the last few years, knowing that each step I’ve taken has been a step toward achieving a dream; a dream that caring for others wouldn’t take so much away from myself and my colleagues. That nurses could be supported to thrive, instead of simply surviving. 

The story behind Fwards isn’t simple, and it certainly hasn’t been easy- but it’s been worth every single moment, misstep and bump in the road so far. And it’s been a joy working to bring Fwards to the nursing world.

Fwards is a piece of me. But it’s also a piece of my friends and colleagues working on the frontlines of healthcare. Fwards hasn’t just been shaped by my own experiences, it’s also been driven by the challenges and struggles of every nurse I’ve had the pleasure of working with.

The vision of Fwards is as much built into the name as it is ingrained in the app itself. Our goal is to transform, revolutionise and move fwards in a way that not only improves the delivery of health care, but also deeply impacts the lives of those who are tasked with healthcare delivery.  

Over the next 4 weeks I’ll be sharing some of my story. Talking about the struggles and pain points behind my journey within nursing and trying to make sense of a life of many ups and downs. 

I haven’t shared my experiences widely before, but I hope that talking about the disconnection, difficulty offloading, exhaustion, confusion and burnout will help others to see why I believe that an application like Fwards is so crucial for those working in healthcare. 

No longer should we be expected to burn ourselves into the ground to deliver care. I believe that being our best selves is more then a ‘nice to have’, but an essential element to the care we provide.

The Fwards app is the beginning of a greater vision to truly transform the self-sacrificing culture of nursing- and we’d love for you to join us in bringing this vision to life. If you’d like to support our journey in any way whether that’s through collaboration, partnership, advocacy or sharing your story please contact us. We can’t wait to have the conversation with you. 

Reach out to me personally at athol@atholtech.com.au

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Or visit Fwards.com to have a closer look at Fwards and download today.