Support for a brighter future

Mediserve is a national nursing agency that has provided staff for health facilities around Australia for 20 years. Recognising the shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and healthcare workers, the organisation created the Indigenous Nursing Scholarship at Flinders University to help bolster the number of these graduates.

‘We believe it’s incredibly important to support Aboriginal nurses to deliver culturally safe care to further community wellbeing,’ says Anzir Annes, Chief Financial Officer of Mediserve.

‘We are so pleased the scholarship could provide Jared with the support he needed to complete his degree, and now be working in the community providing care as a nurse.’

Jared received the scholarship in the second year of his nursing degree, and this helped to reinforce his decision to pursue a nursing career as a matureage student.

‘I’d tried quite a few jobs that weren’t right – service jobs, cleaning – and had started studying IT, but I didn’t like being stuck in an office cubicle in front of a screen. I realised that I wanted a more meaningful career, and that I wanted to help people – and nursing has been the right fit’.

Having finished his nursing degree at the end of 2021, Jared is now working in a public hospital across a range of wards, providing him with well-rounded experience for his nursing future.

‘After years of study it’s exciting to now be launching my nursing career,’ says Jared. ‘Once I get more experience, I’d really like to get involved in mentoring to help others through their degree.’

If you would like to help develop opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, please contact Bonnie Allmond on +61 8 7421 9995 or via email bonnie.allmond@flinders.edu.au