Sydney woman Olivia Kanosvamhira is turning her medical nightmare into a lesson for others.
The nurse's life changed forever five years ago when doctors at Canterbury Hospital mistakenly removed her Fallopian tubes.
Now she's working to ensure no one else has to endure the same fate by starting a new charity, Best Clinical Practice Australia, to provide advice for victims of medical errors.
Ms Kanosvamhira told SBS News she had woken up in pain after a routine day procedure to remove an ovarian cyst.
Related reading
AMA recommends GPs raise fees to cover costs
On reading her clinical notes she discovered the doctors had removed her Fallopian tubes without her consent.
As a result, she can no longer conceive a child naturally.
Ms Kanosvamhira said the staff at the hospital had wanted "as much as possible to sweep it under the carpet".
"It's not everybody who is going to be as bold as I am, to demand answers," she said.
"And had I not been a nurse, I was not going to understand even that."
She said the medical staff told her the tubes were bleeding and infected and had to be removed, but she disputed this claim.
"I said 'ok fine, so if you are convinced that it was infected, How come you're sending me home, without even antibiotic?'" Ms Kanosvamhira said.
"I had so many questions. Why God? How can this happen? I would appreciate if it was going to happen when I was back in Zimbabwe.
"If this mistake was going to happen back there, I would say, 'ok, it's a third world country'.
"But this, happening here, was mind blowing. And I needed answers. But I realised, I am the answer. I'm the answer."
Ms Kanosvamhira fought a lengthy legal battle for compensation and set up a clinical skills training academy to help nurses fill gaps in their medical knowledge.
However she is still yet to receive a formal apology for the hospital.
"There are so many nurses out there who are really aware that, 'I don't remember the last time I mounted an IV medication'," she said.
"Or they're coming from overseas. They're not familiar with the settings, especially the new graduates that are qualifying now.
"There is a huge gap in the skill sets. Yes, [they] graduate, they qualify. But they're still a bit blind. And we are dealing with human lives."
