SEVEN new nurses will join the regional workforce this month as SuniTAFE’s most recent Diploma of Nursing students complete their qualifications.
SuniTAFE nursing teacher Michelle Dent said all seven of the Mildura students had found employment already and would help fill shortages in local nursing services.
“The Diploma of Nursing is a fantastic qualification to obtain with students almost guaranteed to find employment,” she said.
“All seven of our graduate students this year have already found jobs, five will be working as enrolled nurses with four of those in aged-care facilities and the fifth in a GP clinic, while studying for their undergraduate nursing degrees.
“Another two will be completing (enrolled nurse) graduate years, one of whom will be at Mildura Base Public Hospital and the other in Swan Hill.
“Not only are they guaranteed a job at the end of it, but it’s an excellent pathway for those wanting to continue their study while also being able to already work in the industry and perfect their skills at the same time.”
The diploma is delivered full time over two years with students required to attend classes onsite three days per week, as well as complete about 250 hours of self-directed learning outside of scheduled classes through an online learning platform. Students also undertake 440 hours of placement.
“It’s a big two years to complete the diploma and it is an amazing achievement that our students should be very proud of,” Mrs Dent said.
Among the recent graduates is mother-of-four Sarah Wadsworth, who not only just completed her diploma but has also been studying paramedical science and emergency health care through Australian Paramedical College.
“I have always wanted to be a nurse and then after having a child with complex medical needs and seeing just how great the nurses were with him, I knew this was something I wanted to do,” she said.
“It’s been a really full-on few years, but the teachers have been amazing and even when I took 12 months off for personal reasons, education business manager and head of nursing Julie Wilson and the staff fully supported me and made sure I was ready to get back into it when I returned.”
Mrs Wadsworth has secured a place at Mildura Base Public Hospital for her graduate program, where she will work in ward 6, which is paediatric and surgical.
“I like the mix of getting to work with both children and adults, so I am excited to get started,” she said.
