Hospital’s warm welcome
The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service will add five new nursing and two new midwifery graduates to the region this year. Torres and Cape HHS acting executive director of nursing and midwifery Sam Schefe said nurses Jennifer Turner and Sally Meyer and midwife Vivien Nance (right) had recently started their careers at Thursday Island Hospital. Three more nurses and one midwife will also join the health service in early August.
THE Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service will add five new nursing and two new midwifery graduates to the region this year.
Torres and Cape HHS acting executive director of nursing and midwifery Sam Schefe said nurses Jennifer Turner and Sally Meyer and midwife Vivien Nance had recently started their careers at Thursday Island Hospital.
Three more nurses and one midwife will also join the health service in early August.
Ms Turner said she had eagerly awaited the chance to join the workforce in the Torres and Cape region for several years.
“I first came to the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service as a student nurse in 2016,” she said.
“As an indigenous nurse, I wish to further expand my clinical skills and experience and look forward to serving and caring for other First Nations people in the region.
“My goal is to become a remote area nurse to work across Northern Australia.
“In addition to this, I am so excited to be working with local Torres Strait Islander nurses and health workers.”
As part of the program, the new staff will do assessments to help with their transition from study to the workforce.
Mr Schefe said the seven new graduates would work in a variety of clinical areas throughout the region.
“The graduate nurses will start at Thursday Island, Cooktown and Weipa and will work in the clinical areas of acute medical, surgical, emergency and community and primary health,” he said.
“We will also have the two midwifery graduates who will rotate between the inpatient maternity ward and the Midwifery Group Practice at Thursday Island Hospital.
“We hope their first year in our diverse health service will open their eyes to the diverse range of professional experiences in our region.”