SEVEN graduate nurses celebrated their graduating from Hawkesbury District Health Service’s (HDHS) Transition to Professional Nursing Program and their first year as registered nurses, at a special event at Hawkesbury hospital last week.
HDHS Acting Director of Nursing, David Simmonds, congratulated the nurses on their success through the program.
“The nursing transition program provides graduates with a wide variety of experience as they rotate through the hospital’s emergency department, operating theatres and medical and surgical wards,” he said.
“The new graduates are supported by our education team and highly experienced ward staff providing a strong foundation for whichever nursing specialty they choose to follow in the future.”
Graduate Registered Nurse Harley Simms said the program provided the support he needed to start his nursing career on the right foot.
“The first year working as registered nurse can be challenging. I felt fortunate to have support and mentoring from the hospital’s staff and being able to share the experience with my fellow graduate group,” he said.
Five of the seven registered nurses who completed the program in 2018 will continue working at the hospital in 2019, having chosen to further their nursing careers at HDHS, while the remaining two graduates were successful in securing positions within their chosen specialties at other locations.
Nursing students seeking information about the hospital’s nursing program can find out more at https://sjog.org.au/working-with-us/graduate-nursing-jobs.
