Thanks to a generous donation from our partners at Maxxia, 15 outstanding nursing caregivers at St John of God Subiaco Hospital have received scholarships to undertake postgraduate studies.
Maxxia’s support means these caregivers have the opportunity to study and develop their skills across a range of health disciplines including oncology, critical care management and psychology, which will help the hospital meet the growing demand for health care in the community.
The scholarships were further supported through a partnership between St John of God Health Care and the University of Tasmania that was established in 2023, which offers caregivers access to high-quality, flexible postgraduate courses to support their career progression and development at a subsidised cost, in a wide range of nursing and midwifery specialisations.
Vanessa Tran, Director of Nursing at St John of God Subiaco Hospital, said the scholarships will benefit not only caregivers, but patients in hospital as well.
“Patients currently benefit from our excellent nursing care. Having our nursing caregivers continue their education journey and complete postgraduate studies allows them to gain additional knowledge and skills to apply advanced practice to patient care,” Vanessa said.
“Our frontline nursing caregivers are so keen and motivated to increase their knowledge through postgraduate studies and some have the financial ability to support their studies, but the majority do not have this luxury. Scholarships will greatly support our frontline nurses who deliver care every day to become even better nurses through ongoing postgraduate studies."
Scholarship recipient and Nurse Unit Manager, Louise Haliday, said she hopes the strategies and skills she learns through further study will enable her to better support her team and the patients they care for.
“I hope that this will give me a much better insight and understanding into the way my team operates within the organisation, and strategies and skills that I can incorporate into my everyday leadership that will support, empower and assist them as individuals and as a team. This in turn will have a positive impact on the caregivers and patients,” Louise said.
Louise also expressed her heartfelt thanks to Maxxia for making further studies more accessible for caregivers.
“Thank you, the opportunity to study can come at a large price, and by receiving the funds that have been very generously donated, I have been able to further my professional development and education which will benefit all those who I have contact with.”
Congratulations to all of the scholarship recipients, and thank you to Maxxia for this wonderful gift!
Pictured: St John of God Subiaco Hospital caregivers and scholarship recipients, with Rick Sherlock, Maxxia General Manager (far left)