For Holly Jane Silvester and Janice O’Brien, becoming nurses at Werribee Mercy Hospital (WMH) was a natural progression.
Ms Silvester, 22, was born at the hospital and grew up in Werribee aspiring to be a nurse.
For Irish born Ms O’Brien, the journey has been less straightforward, but still filled with signposts pointing to her eventual destination.
The 41 year old is the daughter of a nurse and grew up in the Irish city of Cork where their local hospital was run by nuns from the Sisters of Mercy.
After arriving in Australia with her boyfriend and now husband 14 years ago, the O’Brien’s settled in Wyndham and had two kids, both born at the hospital where their mother now works.
Despite their differences in age and background, both Ms Silvester and Ms O’Brien recently completed WMH’s graduate nursing program together and now work full-time at the hospital.
“I love that every day is different and you don’t know what’s going to come in,” said Ms O’Brien who works at WMH’s emergency department.
“It helps you grow because you’re learning something new every single day.”
Like Ms O’Brien, Ms Silvester started the WMH graduate program in January 2023 and finished at the end of January this year.
“Pediatrics was always something I wanted to do,” said Holly Jane of the ward where she is now works as a permanent employee while also undertaking postgraduate study.
“I’m really specialising and putting myself into a niche little corner for being a children’s nurse, so I’ll do that for the foreseeable future really,” she said.
Cade Lucas
