Record number of graduate nurses and midwives start careers at SJOG

Graduate Nurse Pauline Farrugia – who is based at St John of God in North Richmond – is just one of almost 200 graduate nurses and midwives to start their careers this month in a major push by the private Catholic health care provider to boost student numbers across their organisation nationally.

Graduate Nurse at St John of God, North Richmond, Paula Farrugia…

Some 190 graduate nurses and midwives will start with the organisation, as the first of two intakes for the year across nursing, mental health nursing, perioperative nursing and midwifery.

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

“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,” St John of God Health Care Group Director Workforce, Carla Bonev 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 Pathway to Practice Mental Health graduate 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 opened on February 17.

You can find out more about St John of God Health Care’s graduate programs here