New Riverina nurses hit the ground running at Wagga Base Hospital

Twenty-six graduate nurses commenced at the Wagga Base Hospital last week, while a further 28 nurses started work at hospitals across the Riverina this week, including at Coolamon, Junee and Narrandera.

Sam Mulligan, one of Wagga Base Hospital's newest nurses, originally studied a Bachelor of Communications in Melbourne.

The 25-year-old then decided to make a career change in mid-2020, during the early days of the pandemic.

"I never had a really big epiphany moment, it was more about giving nursing a go and seeing how it went," Mr Mulligan said.

"I've really enjoyed it so far and I think I'll continue to enjoy it down the track."

After studying nursing at the Wagga CSU campus, Mr Mulligan began work as a renal nurse this month, but hasn't locked in where he would like to remain in the long-term.

"I'm not too sure what field I would like to go into [down the track], but that's the beautiful thing about nursing, you know you can pick and choose where you want to go and explore the world of nursing," he said.

Narrandera mum-of-six Julie Hutchison began studying for nursing 20 years ago and after taking a break and starting a family, she finally began her career in the field this week.

"When my youngest went to kindergarten I reapplied to the university and decided to go back and have a go at nursing," Ms Hutchison said.

This week, she undertook training at Wagga Base before commencing work in her local Narrandera Hospital, where she is glad to have secured a job.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Ms Hutchison said.

Despite being a mature-aged nurse graduate, she said this hasn't worried her.

"I wasn't so worried. I knew this is a career with quite a diverse range of ages," she said.

"It's not like the olden days where you had to have a strong back. There are [now] all the policies and procedures in place to protect you physically and I knew I could still be up for the task."

District director of nursing and midwifery Christine Stephens welcomed the latest cohort of nurses to the profession.

"We are pleased to be able to provide employment opportunities to so many nursing graduates," Ms Stephens said.

"Many of them are local to Murrumbidgee, and some have already been working with us as assistants in nursing or enrolled nurses while they have been studying.

"Some of our graduates are moving to a regional area for the first time, and we look forward to welcoming them and showcasing what the district has to offer.

"We know they will benefit from the learning opportunities that regional facilities across Murrumbidgee Local Health District provide and enjoy the reward of working as a part of a local community."

Ms Stephens said the new nurses were supported by a comprehensive education and mentoring program to assist the safe transition from university into the workplace.

"Each graduate nurse is linked with local nursing and midwifery staff, nurse educators and managers to ensure they have access to the support needed during their entry into the nursing workforce," she said.

The MLHD provides a structured graduate program which offers additional education opportunities and diverse clinical exposure due to the variety of service delivery options that rural and regional sites provide, enabling the consolidation of skills and knowledge developed at university.

Graduates are aligned to facility and cluster groups and can link together via an array of virtual technologies to share information, learnings and experiences.

The MLHD has a 100 per cent recommendation rate for the graduate program from last years' candidates.

"2024 will bring exciting opportunities for our newly graduated registered nurses and we hope that their GradStart year with us marks the start of a long and successful nursing career within MLHD," Ms Stephens said.

The Gradstart program supports nursing and midwifery graduates during their first year of practice in NSW public hospitals.