The Member for Penrith, Stuart Ayres welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner and the Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli for fully funded scholarships for the Diploma of Enrolled Nursing program in NSW, with a guaranteed job offer at a NSW public hospital upon completion of the course.
State Training Services, in partnership with NSW Health, is funding the scholarships for training at 15 TAFE campuses.
“This is great news for Penrith, as the NSW Government has subsidised 51 places for people who will be trained at Nepean’s Western Sydney TAFE Campus,” Mr Ayres said.
“3000 extra nurses started working in our public health system since the Government was elected and another 2,000 university graduate nurses are due to begin their first year as Registered Nurses in our hospital system this year.
“It was predicted that there would be a shortage of enrolled nurses when the former Labor Government ended the combined TAFE-hospital based courses several years ago and this shortage needs to be addressed. These scholarships are available to encourage more people to enter the nursing workforce as ENs.
“Enrolled Nurses are a vital part of the health system and we need to invest now to provide the level of staffing needed to care for patients across the state well into the future.
“Applicants who successfully complete the course will embark on a rewarding career within the NSW health system and scholarships will cover full payment of course fees and will guarantee a position in a NSW public hospital.”
Scholarship applications are now open and close March 22, 2013. Successful scholarship applicants will commence the TAFE course from May 2013. The course duration is 12-18 months.
The application process includes a written application, a basic literacy and numeracy test and interview. To find out more and for an application package, visit: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing.
