More than 140 graduate nurses and midwives are ready to translate the skills they’ve learnt at university into excellent care for local patients, as part of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) 2023 graduate program.
127 nurses and 19 midwives have been chosen to join SCHHS, after it received around 800 applications.
Post Graduate Nurse Educator Amanda Naumann said she was very pleased to welcome the talented and passionate cohort.
“Our nurses and midwives play a key role in the future of our region’s health workforce, and we look forward to supporting this group of graduates during such an important time of their career and seeing them continue to grow as confident health professionals,” she said.
“They will be warmly welcomed by all the staff of the SCHHS and supported by highly skilled clinical coaches and nurse educators as they transition into the workplace providing care for patients and their families.”
Each graduate will work in a specialty area and will have future opportunity to further develop their nursing and midwife skills within the SCHHS.
2023 will see the largest culturally diverse cohort at SCHHS, we will see an increase in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander graduate nurses and more international residents that have moved to Australia.
“As a health service we are dedicated to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and part of our strategy to achieving health equity involves recruiting a culturally diverse workforce,” Ms Naumann said.
“We know these graduates will bring immense value and a rich contribution to the workforce.”
Abby Loiterton has just moved to the Sunshine Coast to work in the rehabilitation team.
“I grew up in a small remote community with a really high indigenous population and being indigenous myself I saw a real need for nurses and other allied health professionals,” she said.
“When I became an AIN I would go back home to work at my local hospital, I just realised how hard it was for them to get health staff to the area.
“I want to get experience under my belt and branch out into something more acute like emergency. I definitely have a plan to return to rural and remote nursing, as a lot of indigenous people struggle with chronic illness and don’t always have access to healthcare.”
Mother of three Caitlyn Campbell has always wanted to be a midwife, but life kept getting in the way.
After completing studies at UniSC, she is now joining the maternity team at Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
“Being a midwife is all about protecting a mother and her space, especially in the birth suite. I am passionate about giving them the birth they want, as we have been taught that everybody’s idea of a perfect birth is completely different,” she said.
“Working at SCUH is a dream come true because my eldest has ASD and ADHD and it’s been a tough couple of years with him in school. He finally started having a good year last year so to move was out of the question – as parents we had to put him first – so to get a job here was perfect.”
Nurse graduate Sarah Rogers comes from a family of medical professionals including her mum who is a nurse and her aunty and uncle who are doctors.
“Helping others was born and bred into me,” she said.
“Previously I was a vet nurse, but I was really inspired to study nursing after my stepfather had a stroke, so I want to be able to provide excellent care to patients and be their advocate when they can’t advocate for themselves.
“I was interested in joining the surgical team because people are critically ill when they come to us and they need a strong voice to support them, and also because I am someone who loves learning.”
A majority of the graduates are starting on Monday February 20, with a small number commencing in April, June and October.