By Holly McGuinness
Registered nursing and midwifery undergraduate students will soon be joining the Western Health workforce to gain practical experience and help relieve pressure on the health system as part of a state government funded program.
The initiative had been announced by the Victorian government in the 2022/23 budget but has more recently noted that an additional 1000 undergraduate positions will be made available at 29 hospitals across the state.
Participants will initially assist with more basic tasks such as showering, feeding and transferring patients and eventually evolve to complete more complex tasks with supervision.
The program has had $59 million invested to create 2,250 registered undergraduate student nurse positions over two years and $9.8 million for 75 registered undergraduate student midwife roles.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas announced the additional roles at Sunshine Hospital on Sunday, July 24th.
“Healthcare systems across Australia are under pressure – providing more opportunities for student nurses to enter the workforce and while they get on-the-job training is just one way we’re relieving pressure on the system,” said Minister Thomas.
