Hi Sarah, Thanks for agreeing to chat with me! Can I start out by asking if you are RN or EN, what state you are from and what year you graduated?
Hi Meg, I’m an RN in Victoria. Graduated 2020 
so a freshie!
so a freshie!
So lovely to meet you 
So when you graduated did you apply for any grad programs?
So when you graduated did you apply for any grad programs?I applied for 4 programs. I had one interview. Overall I had a few issues with my transcript not showing completion of my course, and I know a requirement for one of the hospitals I applied for was a complete transcript so they deemed me unsuccessful. Other than that I had one interview and was ultimately unmatched!
How did you find that whole process?
To be honest I was told by my uni lecturers and nurses on placements, if I didn’t get a grad the chances of me getting a job in the industry are extremely slim. I prepared myself to not be matched but when I read the email I was quite disappointed and upset. I also felt that I was left unsupported with what to do next.
Wow that must have been really stressful for you! What did you think lay ahead for you at that time?
I put my ‘nursing career’ on hold for a few months and decided not to worry about it straight away as it was quite an overwhelming situation. I prepared myself for the worst but I didn’t actually expect to be unmatched. In January 2021 I applied for my AHPRA registration and I suppose begun looking then!
I imagine that there would be some people who would give up after that first knockback because it is so drilled into us that we have to get into a program. I am glad you decided to keep trying. So what happened once you started looking for jobs?
Definitely. I wasn’t going to let 4 unmatched applications decide my whole career!
I applied for 2 jobs,
• a mental health graduate program that had been allocated 2 more positions from the government
• And after a lot of research I applied for a vaccination program in Melbourne
I was rejected for the mental health grad program but ultimately secured a position on a Covid vaccination team.
Great! When did you start there? And how did you find the support?
I was accepted start of Feb and started at the start of April. They did a bulk hiring for the pop ups! The support was good, and if we needed more support we were able to seek it out. I ended up being contacted to do some ward shifts with the hospital I was hired with, in an attempt to lower the strain on the workforce during Covid. They provided supernumerary and support and offered me shifts as a bank staff member. After that I was offered a grad year contract, 6 months vaccinating and 6 months clinical. The hospital was able to find other public hospitals in the area to take on some graduates so I am essentially doing my grad with 2 hospitals. Right now I’m about 8 weeks into my clinical and it’s fantastic. I’m in a very specialised area and the support is fantastic!
Oh that is awesome! Our hospital has done something similar with taking on grads into our program who were already in the vaccination clinics and offering them a clinical placement as well. We are also now looking at taking on more nurses from the clinics to help supplement the hospital staffing. Which clinical area are you in?
Yes it’s so amazing! I am currently in NICU/Special Care Nursery. It’s a lot when the only experience you have is adults, but there is so much to learn and there’s so much support.
Was NICU an area that you had previously had interest in?
I always had an interest in paediatrics, so when NICU was offered I put it down straight away as my top preference!
Did you ever think when you accepted the position in a vaccination clinic that it would lead you to the NICU?
Never in a million years!
I am so greatful and thankful of every opportunity. I often think, if I did get a grad year initially, I don’t think I would have made it into NICU at all then, so having this opportunity is amazing.
What a great story! Do you have any message that you would like to give to other students or new grads that are anxious about the future?
Don’t give up! Keep pursuing because there is always another way. Even if it doesn’t go the way you think it should!
Thank you so much for sharing
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