GradStart 2025 information evenings
Please come along to one of our information sessions to find out more about the program and its application process for 2025 GradStart positions.
To register, please email SCHN-Education@health.nsw.gov.au, providing your name, the site you will be attending, and the name of your university.
- Monday, 13 May, 2024, 5pm–6:30pm, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
- Tuesday, 21 May, 2024, 5pm–6:30pm, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
The GradStart Nursing Program provides newly-qualified registered nurses with valuable and varied experience for the first 12-months of your career. The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network also offers first-year registered nurses opportunity to undertake their honours program while working as a first-year registered nurse.
The program is designed to:
- Provide participants valuable and varied experience and knowledge
- Teach participants to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical practice
- Develop advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Provide participants invaluable skills for communicating with children and families
- Support a transition to the registered nurse role in a specialist peadiatric hospital (applicable to first-year registered nurses)
Learn more
Contact
Email: SCHN-NursingEducation@health.nsw.gov.au
Phone: (02) 9382 52418 (Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick)
Phone: (02) 9485 2214 (The Children's Hospital at Westmead)
More information
Our program structure
Clinical settings available
During the program, the first-year registered nurse has the opportunity to consolidate practice in the clinical setting. Clinical settings include:
- Perioperative service stream (anaesthetics, recovery, scrub/scout and day stay) (The Children's Hospital at Westmead)
- Recovery (Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick)
- Adolescent surgery/medical
- Oncology/Haematology
- Burns/Plastic surgery
- Neuroscience
- Cardiothoracic
- Surgical
- Orthopaedic
- Medical
- Isolation/Infectious diseases
- Day stay/Medical and surgical
- Cardiac, renal and liver transplants (The Children's Hospital at Westmead)
- Renal transplants (Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick)
- Neonatal intensive care (The Children's Hospital at Westmead)
- Gastroenterology/Endocrinology/Rheumatology
- Emergency department
- Paediatric intensive care unit
Participants are given an opportunity to indicate their ward preferences during the 12-month program.
Honours program
Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network offers first-year registered nurses the opportunity to undertake their honours program while continuing to work as a first-year registered nurse. Participants in the GradStart Program are employed by Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network on a permanent contract.
The Hospitals will support program participants through the provision of study leave to attend their university commitments and participants are encouraged to apply for nursing scholarships at the hospital.
The honours program is supported by the Nursing Research Unit who assist participants with their project through supervision, regular meetings and workshops. Honours program participants will have the opportunity to rotate through general and specialty areas in the hospital.
Application process
All positions the GradStart program at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network are made via the NSW Ministry of Health: Nurses and Midwifery Office (NaMO).
NaMO have online online modules available to watch to support students through the application and recruitment process.
No applications outside of this process will be considered.
Conditions of employment
Employment details
Participants in the GradStart program are employed by Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network on a permanent contract with the opportunity to move to a different clinical area after 12 months of employment subject to availability and manager’s approval.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Nurses Registration
All participants must be eligible to apply and be granted their NSW Nurses Registration prior to commencement of the program. Failure to meet this criterion will prevent the first year registered nurse from applying for and commencing the program.
Immunisation status
All participants must be fully vaccinated prior to commencing the program at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. An offer of employment will only be confirmed to the successful applicant when evidence of protection against the specified infectious diseases and TB screening is provided and accepted by Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.
Annual leave
Annual leave will be available during the program.
Uniform
Nurses at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network are provided with a uniform package. It is expected that GradStart participants will wear the uniform in full, as professional presentation is considered essential for all staff.