“I feel as if nursing was meant for me. Even when I was a child my dad would talk about how I would make a good nurse some day. As soon as I could, I moved from my home in Nepal and came to Australia to undertake my Bachelor in Nursing,” Ms Balami said.

“It is hard to believe I’m now actually nursing. There is a lot of support and I’m already building confidence,” Ms Balami said.

Calvary Kogarah offers a small number of placements each year, providing nurse graduates support and the ability to focus their training on rehabilitation and palliative care.

“Calvary Kogarah staff are all so happy and welcoming. I don’t feel uncomfortable asking for help and I’m learning a lot,” Ms Balami added.

Calvary Kogarah was fellow nurse graduate Nick Ona’s preference to complete his placement after getting to know the hospital during his studies.

“I did a placement here and the environment was great, the staff were all really friendly and I felt challenged by the work,” Mr Ona said.

“The fact Calvary Kogarah specialises in rehabilitation and palliative care is something I really value as they are such meaningful areas to work in.”

Last year's graduates

Last year, the hospital welcomed seven nurse graduates through the program. Among those was Registered Nurse Sevasti Trikilis, who accepted a permanent position with Calvary Kogarah Hospital and is now acting as mentor to the latest cohort.

“There are going to be times when you feel overwhelmed but my advice to the new graduates is step back and take a deep breath. It is completely normally to feel overwhelmed as a new graduate but the staff at Calvary are all really friendly and all you have to do is ask for help,” Ms Trikilis said.

This year the hospital welcomed four nurse graduates.

To find out more about Calvary's graduate nurse programs, click here.