Record number of graduate nurses and midwives start their careers

2 Mar 2023

An influx of 190 graduate nurses and midwives started with the organisation, as the first of two intakes for the year across four streams, including nursing, mental health nursing, perioperative nursing and midwifery.

The intake follows a record number of graduate nurses and midwives recruited to the organisation last year, with 273 graduates joining across two intakes in 2022.

St John of God Health Care Group Director Workforce Carla Bonev said she was thrilled to be able to offer so many graduate opportunities.

“Our graduate nurses and midwives are our future workforce, and with our existing experienced team, play an important role in helping us deliver high quality patient care and outcomes both now and into the future,” she said.

“We are so happy to be supporting more nurses and midwives than ever before to start their careers with us and provide them with a range of clinical experiences, supported by our highly skilled caregivers, as well as the benefits of working with a large, national organisation.

“We were particularly happy to welcome our first graduate mental health nurses to our Richmond and Burwood hospitals in 2022, as these hospitals have not previously offered the Pathways to Practice graduate mental health nurse programs.”

Ms Bonev said the increase in graduates employed by St John of God Health Care was a part of the organisation’s recruitment strategy to help attract and retain nurses and midwives at a time when there is a worldwide shortage.

“The record number of graduate nurses and midwives will help increase our capacity to provide high quality health care today and in the future,” she said.

“We offer graduates many benefits including permanent contracts, intensive clinical and teaching support, learning and development opportunities, small group coaching and a range of clinical rotations, as well as the chance to advance their careers through scholarships and research in the future.

“We are also excited to share that we will be rolling out an allied health graduate program in the near future, to grow and strengthen our workforce and help provide essential patient care. 

“In addition to the recruitment of graduate nurses and midwives, we have been actively recruiting within Australia and internationally for experienced practitioners and are pleased at the response thus far, which we believe reflects the success of a highly attractive offering, including a global mobilisation plan which includes a pathway to permanent residency, relocation assistance and a range of supports for overseas health care workers.”

Applications for St John of God Health Care’s second intake of graduate nurses and midwives for 2023 across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia are now open and close on 7 March 2023 (WA and NSW) and 14 March 2023 (Victoria).

Find out more about St John of God Health Care’s graduate programs.