Providing nurses with career development opportunities is essential in growing a professional aged care workforce.
Providing nurses with career development opportunities is essential in growing a professional aged care workforce according to Bupa Learning and Development Manager Margaret Ryan.
And providing these opportunities is the main aim of the Bupa Graduate Nurse Program.
The program, run in conjunction with The College of Nursing, is designed to attract recent graduate nurses to the aged care industry, giving them hands on clinical exposure as well as professional development sessions. In addition the graduates are offered the opportunity to commence a three year post graduate certificate in aged care, funded by Bupa.
Twenty-five nurses enrolled in this years program nationally, a 56 per cent increase on last year. Six of the intake is male which will bring a new dimension to aged care nursing.
Bren Brillante has been working in aged care while he completed his nursing studies. This year he will share his time between Bupa Queens Park and Bupa Maroubra.
He is keen to build his skills in aged care nursing so he can provide expert care to residents and views aged care nursing as a speciality field where relationships are far more important.
“In aged care the residents are much more than just people requiring treatment. I strive to be an active listener so I can better meet the needs of the people in my care” Brillante says.
Betty Wong looks forward to joining the team at Bupa Aranda and building on her nursing skills in aged care. She hopes to be a good listener and to be able to bring the right mix of “comfort and care to her residents”. She is most interested in rehabilitation and palliative care, working to relieve pain and bringing reassurance to her residents.
Originally from Hong Kong, Wong worked in an aged care facility for two years while completing her nursing degree
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