PA Hospital’s 2025 intake of graduate nurses have been arriving in waves over recent months ably supported by the Transition Support Program and the talented team of Nurse Educators at PAH.
Since August 2024, 95 graduate nurses have commenced their career at PA as part of the 2025 cohort with another 71 to hit the corridors by the end of February.
Nurse Educator Megan Wise from the Nursing Practice Development Unit said the staggered start for the graduates manages skill levels and training in a way that ensures the hospital is well equipped with staff when they need it most.
“Nursing graduates at PA Hospital are placed across all clinical divisions, including the Permanent Nurse Pool which guarantees these nurses a placement, provides a wide variety of clinical experience and is an amazing solution for filling emergent leave or team movements in the clinical environment,” she said.
“PA’s Graduate Nursing Program builds workforce capacity for the future with transition to practice ensuring new nurses are well skilled, competent and confident to provide nursing care in each specialty area.”
As the specialist tertiary training hospital in Metro South Health, PA Hospital plays an integral part in training nursing, medical, and allied health students as well as placements for first year graduates who benefit from exposure to dynamic clinical environments in medicine, perioperative, emergency, cancer, rehabilitation, and critical care.
Megan said the exceptional transition program is a focus at PAH that is key to bringing new graduate nurses back to PA as their first choice year after year.
“We are all about support through the transition – not just from our nursing practice development team but the Nurse Unit Managers, Clinical Facilitators, and all of the nursing leaders who are actively invested in the success of our graduate nurses.”
Graduate nurse Christina commenced in January after completing a dual degree in nursing and paramedics at Queensland University of Technology.
“I always knew I wanted to be in healthcare – I love working with people, and I’ve always been the person in my family to spend time with family members who are in hospital. It was here that I saw other nurses and what they do so I wanted to be like them,” she said.
“I’ll be in Division of Medicine doing six months in Ward 5D and then moving to MAPU. You get all sorts of patients up in Infectious Diseases, both medical and surgical, whereas in MAPU they are mostly medical. I’m learning a lot.”
Megan said that additional nursing graduates are expected to commence at PA in the coming months.
“Nursing is a great profession and the support you get early in your career will set you up for life.”