Over the last few days we have enjoyed getting to know some of the up-and-coming talent to join Monash Health as part of our graduate programs.
For the last of our introductions, we chat with a mental health nurse graduate and a midwifery graduate. Both will work through rotations, consolidating clinical skills required to complete each rotation.
Charlotte McCarthy – mental health nurse graduate
Nursing was not a life-long ambition for Charlotte. Completing high school with no clear career plan, Charlotte accepted a job at Cabrini Hospital performing administrative tasks. It was during
Pictured: Charlotte McCarthy, Mental Health Nurse
her time at Cabrini that Charlotte developed a keen interest in nursing and enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing at Deakin University.
Initially interested in wound care, her studies in mental health shifted Charlotte’s focus – “I realised it was a specialty” – and spent her first-year placement in mental health at Monash Health’s Casey site.
Her experience at Casey provided many learning opportunities and “really solidified for me that mental health was something I wanted to get into.”
Charlotte enjoys the one-on-one time that caring for patients requiring mental health support provides, and appreciates that her core nursing skills are still utilised, as many patients can present with both physical and mental health issues.
Charlotte will rotate through four areas during her 2-year graduate program, with the aim of working in a community mental health nurse role in the long-term.
Abbey Gardiner – midwifery graduate
Pictured: Abbey Gardiner, Midwife
Ever since her mother was pregnant with her baby brother, Abbey knew she wanted to be a midwife.
Abbey studied midwifery at Australian Catholic University, and in her final year she was placed with Monash Health at Dandenong and Clayton, where she “saw and learned a lot”.
Feeling nurtured and inspired through the placement process, it was a “no-brainer to put Monash Health as my first preference” for the graduate program.
Abbey is passionate about women-centred care and is driven to have an understanding of what they’re going through, finding that experiencing each woman’s journey can be “so overwhelming, but a great learning experience”. Having only worked during COVID times, Abbey is thankful that women in labour have continued to have the benefit of a support person by their side.
Abbey will spend three months on the post-natal ward as primary carer for women and babies, where she has already benefitted from additional tasks such as taking bloods and giving medication.
We wish all our commencing graduates the best for their year ahead.
Approved by Dr Anand Ponniraivan and Katrina Nankervis