Wednesday 22 February 2023

Over the past three weeks, Austin Health has welcomed 183 new Graduate Registered Nurses.

"We had 94 graduates commence in our first intake on 30 January, followed by a further 89 graduates starting just last week on 13 February. Our third intake for 2023 is planned for 1 May. Each year, our new graduate intakes are pivotal to providing high quality patient and consumer care and supporting our nursing workforce," says Amy Bell, Education Coordinator.

Our Graduate Nurse Program has three streams: General, Mental Health and Combined streams, with graduates commencing across all three streams already in 2023.

This will see graduates working across 48 of our clinical areas, including inpatient and community care areas.

Alana Barnes is one of our Combined Stream graduates who will spend six months in mental health nursing and six months in general nursing. She was a Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing (RUSON) prior to her graduate program and is now working as a Registered Nurse in the Acute Psychiatric Unit.

Alana says: "The reason I chose Austin is because the culture at is unlike any other hospital or workplace I have worked at. All the nurses and staff at are so supportive and friendly, I already feel confident it's a great place to start my nursing career."

Tiana Jade Anastasio is the General Stream graduate in Ward 12 at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and adds:

"I chose Austin Health for my graduate year as I had family members cared for at the Austin when I was very young, and I remember coming in and being very fascinated with what the nurses and doctors were doing and trying to listen to what they were talking about - although I had no idea.  When I had the opportunity to pick where I would like to do my graduate year it was a no-brainer that it had to be the Austin as it's where my love and passion for nursing started."

"The past two weeks have been the most challenging weeks, but also the most rewarding.  The support of the Education team has made this whole process so easy, and they have all welcomed us grads with open arms from day one, making it less daunting to start out on the wards and making it feel so easy to ask for help when needed and also making us feel a part of the team immediately".

Janet Anto from the General Stream is now at the Emergency Department and adds:

"Transitioning from a student to Registered nurse can seem daunting, especially when you are responsible for the care of your patients without the support of a constant buddy nurse. However, I feel very lucky to be part of the Austin, all staff are very supportive and welcoming. Not to mention the education team who have made transition less daunting with well-prepared orientation shifts, thorough training and supernumerary shifts which puts you at ease. They regularly come around to check on you and are available whenever you need a hand. Thank you Austin".