North West Hospital and Health Service (HHS) has welcomed its first wave of nursing graduates for 2025 this February, as 20 eager new grads gear up for a year of hands-on learning.

Out of the 20 graduates, 17 are Registered Nurses, 5 of which will be transitioned to the North West HHS remote sites of Mornington Island, Doomadgee, Julia Creek, and Cloncurry, and 3 graduates will bolster the midwifery team.

With the Transition Support Team watching over them, the new nurses will get a taste for variety as they take up placements across the hospital, from medical and surgical wards to outpatient departments and specialty units including ED, ICU, and Paediatrics.

Graduate nurse Katie Stickland hit the ground running with seven years’ experience as an AIN on the Sunshine Coast which gave her a view into the array of possibilities that come with nursing.

“My Nan was a nurse for 40-years and so I’d go with her to work on the Paediatric ward and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to follow in her footsteps,” Katie said.

“I wanted a break from the city life, I asked lots of people on my nursing placements where is the best rural town to go and a lot said they had the best experiences in Mount Isa.

“They said ’ll learn things that I wouldn’t learn in metro areas and reach my full capacity, so I felt it was a really good place for me to start my journey and hopefully I’ll get out to remote communities like Mornington Island.”

After many years living on the east coast, Graduate nurse Montana was ready to return to the town where she was born - Mount Isa.

“I’ve always had a keen interest in the human body, how it works, how it heals itself, and nurses I believe have always played a vital role in the healthcare system.” Said Montana.

“I also believe there’s more to the title of nurse; it’s being a mother, a teacher, a healer.

“I did my internship in surgical out here and I really found that, compared to working in the bigger hospitals in the city, there was more sense of community, everyone really wanted to support me and help me and see me grow and learn. I couldn’t have asked for a better team for my placement.”

Nurse educator Kim Pigram says the Transition Support team, Nurse Unit Managers, educators, and all North West HHS nurses and midwives are ready to guide the new graduates as they settle into life in the North West.

“We’re very excited to have the 2025 cohort join us, it’s going to be an interesting year for them,” said Kim.

“Our goal is to support the graduate nurses through our program over the next 12 months, set them up for a long and successful nursing career, and hopefully retain them as permanent and capable members of the North West HHS nursing tribe.”

We wish all the new nurses a successful graduate year as they launch their rural and remote nursing careers.