Nursing a family affair

Mother and daughter nursing duo Jo and Pirie Crompton are among more than 70 nurse graduates who started their careers at The Prince Charles Hospital in the last year.

An opportunity to work at one of Brisbane’s top hospitals is a dream come true for mother and daughter nursing duo Jo and Pirie Crompton.

Both women joined the team at The Prince Charles Hospital as graduate nurses, with Jo, a mature age student, graduating a year after her daughter.

More than 70 nurse graduates have the opportunity to start their nursing career at TPCH every year, with placements always in demand.

Pirie said being offered a place at Charlies, which offers general and specialised services, gave her a wide range of career prospects.

“I spent my graduate year in the Infectious Diseases Ward and for my second year I’ve been offered a permanent position there,” Pirie said.

“We see a variety of patients so I’m definitely learning a lot and I feel very well supported. Everyone’s very helpful.”

Jo spent her graduate year in the rehabilitation and acute stroke unit and is now undertaking a 12 month Intensive Care Unit transition course.

“It’s very challenging, but there is a really supportive culture,” Jo said.

TPCH Nurse Manager Workforce-Recruitment Susan Prince said TPCH offered a wide range of nursing specialties not only for graduates but also for experienced nurses who wanted to further develop their skills in areas such as cardiac and thoracic medicine or surgery, children’s inpatient and outpatient services, emergency care, general medical and surgical services, mental health, ICU and perioperative and procedural environments.

Recruitment for the 2018 intake of graduate nurses is already underway.