Designed to strengthen the future of the nursing and midwifery workforce, Queensland Health’s Strength with Immersion (SwIM) programs are supporting early to mid-career nurses and midwives to develop skills in a specialty practice such as Aged Care, Intensive Care, Paediatric, Mental Health and Community and Primary Health Care (C&PHC).

Established in 2019, Metro South Health is host of the C&PHC SwIM which has been a great succession resource for not only nursing in the Community but also builds skill for roles in Nurse Navigation.

Starting as a Clinical Nurse in Metro South Community Aged Care, Hilary Bustillo, completed the C&PHC SwIM in May 2020 and hasn’t looked back.

Hilary has been working as Nurse Navigator in Princess Alexandra Hospital CARE-PACT (PAH) and has just commenced as Clinical Nurse Consultant for PAH’s neurology patients supporting people with movement disorders living in rural and remote communities through Telehealth.

“The program gave me the opportunity to further my career in the Aged Care field.

“I had heard quite a lot about the Nurse Navigator Model of Care and was interested to find out more about the role and see how the Navigators applied the model to their clients care and the outcomes they were able to achieve,” she said.  

SwIM provided Hilary the opportunity to experience the role in a well-supported environment and gain a deeper understanding of what skills were required.

The program provides specialist professional development opportunities for nurses to explore areas of interest. 

“I felt a strong connection to the philosophy of the CARE-PACT service, to provide appropriate and timely care to aged care residents in the most appropriate setting for the resident’s needs,” she said.

“I would very much recommend this program to other nurses.”

The program was developed by Metro South Health Community and Oral Health Nursing Education team with funding thanks to The Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.

For more information: https://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/nmoq/education/strength-with-immersion-model-programs