Since October 2022, Northern Health has focused on a targeted program of attracting and recruiting internationally qualified nurses and midwives, as part of its Nursing and Midwifery recruitment strategy.

In undertaking this work, senior nursing leaders from Northern Health recently attended job fairs in Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, promoting the diverse and exciting healthcare opportunities available both in Victoria, as well as in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

Grant Taylor, Director of Nursing Workforce, advised that the program has been an enormous success having recruited and onboarded a total of 18 new nurses since the program began, with another seven about to join Northern Health soon.

Grant continued, “Our new international recruits have joined Northern Health from a variety of overseas countries including the United Kingdom, Singapore, India, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada.”

Working across numerous wards at Northern Health in departments as diverse as Emergency, Paediatrics, Mental Health and Operating Theatres, the recruits bring new perspectives and transferable skill sets.

Lisa Cox, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, said, “It has been fantastic to see the influx of highly qualified and experienced nurses and midwives from Northern Health’s international recruitment program. These nurses and midwives support our local applicants and current staff and provide a unique opportunity to create a truly diverse nursing and midwifery team.”

Director of Nursing (Mental Health), Gary Ennis, commented, “Over the past four months the Division of Mental Health has welcomed a number of mental health nurses from New Zealand and Canada. There has been a steady stream of interest from overseas mental health nurses enquiring about coming to work for us at Northern Health, with a number of UK based nurses preparing for a move later this year.”

“Our values of Safe, Kind and Together really appear to resonate with the nurses who have applied for positions at Northern Health. There is a lot of choice for mental health nurses when picking a health service to work for and it’s great to see that the division of Mental Health at Northern Health continues to attract quality overseas applicants.”

Northern Health warmly welcomes our new international recruits, and trusts your time with us will be a symbiotically fruitful one.

Pictured in featured image: Grant Taylor with some of our new international recruits.