North West HHS welcomes 2023 nurse graduate cohort 

18 new nursing graduates joined the ranks at North West Hospital and Health Service (HHS) this month. 

North West HHS Executive Director Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance Michelle Garner said it was encouraging to see good numbers of interns and graduates applying to live and work in regional locations. 

“We’re so pleased to have these new graduate nurses and midwives with us here in the North West and they’ll soon be working on the frontline in our facilities making a huge difference in the region,” Ms Garner said. 

“These nurses will learn on the job and translate the skills they’ve learnt at university into better outcomes for patients in some of our most remote communities.” 

The new graduates will be allocated to duties in medical ward, surgical ward, cancer care, emergency department, maternity, special care nursery, outpatient department, as well as Cloncurry Multipurpose Health Service and Normanton Hospital, with rotation to a different work area every six months. 

Ms Garner said North West HHS had increasingly gained a reputation as a preferred training ground for new graduates to launch their careers. 

“The learning and development opportunities in our region will strengthen their clinical skills and knowledge, setting them up for a rewarding career providing patient-centred care.” 

New nurse graduate Michael Henriksen said he was determined to begin his career in a rural health setting and the information and support he received from the training team at North West HHS helped to finalise his decision.  

Coming from the Gold Coast, Mr Henriksen said he was looking forward to a beach to bush lifestyle change after his first interaction with the North West team.   

“When I first made contact with the health service I was really impressed with the whole programme – the team really wanted to engage with me and completely sold me on coming here,” Mr Henriksen said.   

“I’d previously heard lots of good things about working in Mount Isa so it was my number one choice”.  

Townsville nurse graduate Paris Winslaw said North West HHS was the ideal choice for her due to her interest in delivering health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.   

“With such a large Aboriginal population here I'm really looking forward to helping to work towards closing the gap in Indigenous health inequality,” Ms Winslaw said.  

Ms Winslaw said it was the first time she had visited Mount Isa and she was impressed with the social and lifestyle options available in the city and surrounding region.  

“Everyone here has been so friendly, welcoming and inviting, and I'm looking forward to experiencing lots of outdoor activities, camping and rodeos.”