Community
19 February, 2025
Nurses help ‘tired’ staff
THE largest cohort of graduate nurses and midwives to ever go through the Cairns and Hinterland Health and Hospital Service (CHHHS) have started work across the region and relieving the pressure on the health industry.
A total of 226 registered nurses, enrolled nurses and registered midwives have officially started employment with CHHHS, with 34 going to remote areas while the rest of the cohort will remain at Cairns Hospital. They are 178 registered nurses, 37 enrolled nurses and 11 registered midwives.
The cohort has broken records for CHHHS’ graduate program. Last year there were 180 new nurses and midwives and it will mean a fresh new start for what the nursing and midwifery executive director Leanne Boyd has called a “tired workforce”.
“We’re very excited to welcome our new graduates, they bring a great fresh energy to our tired workforce, so it’s really important for them to come into our organisation,” she said.
“There are 226 starting, 34 are going to rural areas which is a very depleted workforce, so we’re excited about that.
“This is an absolute record of graduates, I don’t think we’ve ever had that many here in Cairns and we’ve done a lot of work to ensure that it’s attractive for our graduates to come here.
“They bring a real refreshing energy, they bring different perspectives and challenge the status quo which is always welcome. Most of them are locals and we’ve really targeted them because they’re more likely to stay in the region which is really important for our foundation staff.”
Registered nurse Will Reid, 40, said he was excited to take on a new career path.
“My initial interest sparked in the wake of the COVID pandemic and there was a massive need for nurses, that was a big catalyst,” he said.
“I did truck driving, construction and mining before, so it’s a bit of a change, but I think it’s an awesome opportunity for me to level up my career and give back to the community that I’ve grown up in and I love.”
Graduate midwife Kiara Dundas said she was excited to help women at Cairns Base Hospital give birth.
“I did my nursing graduate year here in 2021 and then I decided to go into midwifery,” she said. “There’s something very special about welcoming a new life into the world and helping women and their families through such a special time.
“I finished my studies and then I had a baby of my own. This made me even more motivated to come back and support women through my job.”
