11 November, 2019

A TAFE NSW Griffith Diploma of Nursing graduate has vowed to use her skills to help improve health outcomes for Aboriginal people in her community.

Lisa Curry has graduated from a Diploma of Nursing at TAFE NSW, which helped her secure a job at Griffith Base Hospital as an Enrolled Nurse in the cardiac ward. Her sister, Naomi Misi, completed the Diploma course at the same time and is working as an enrolled nurse at Griffith’s Scalibrini Village.

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals Indigenous Australians are 2.3 times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to be burdened with chronic disease in their lifetimes.

She said Murrumbidgee Local Health District, which manages Griffith Base Hospital, had been “hugely supportive” of her career to date.

“I work closely with the doctors and I’ve learned so much from them,” Ms Curry said.

Lisa Curry’s learning journey with TAFE NSW started as a teenager, when she completed an automotive course at TAFE NSW Griffith to help her maintain her first car. In the ensuing years, the proud Wiradjuri woman has graduated with qualifications in childhood education and care, aged care, business and nursing.

Ms Curry said: “I learn better hands-on and I work better hands-on, so TAFE NSW was the perfect fit for me.

“The teachers had such amazing industry experience and allowed us to learn at our own pace.”

Ms Curry is now studying a Bachelor of Nursing, part of the TAFE NSW/CSU Pathway Program, in a bid to become a Registered Nurse and use her training to specialise in Indigenous health.

TAFE NSW Griffith Diploma of Nursing Teacher Sarah Proud said the job outcomes for graduates of the course were “exceptional”.

“The vast majority of graduates find work as nurses,” Ms Proud said.

“We also have a brilliant pathway program with CSU, where Diploma of Nursing graduates get accepted into the CSU degree and only have to complete the second and third year to earn their Bachelor of Nursing.

“They can study while they’re working as nurses, getting industry experience and earning money.”

Her comments were backed up more broadly by a higher education report by the Grattan Institute, released last month, which concluded that in most cases, a TAFE NSW qualification leads to a graduate finding work in that field.

To find out more about studying nursing at TAFE NSW Griffith, phone 13 16 01 or visit www.tafensw.edu.au.

Media contact: Daniel Johns, TAFE NSW Media and Communications – Business Partner, 6938 1441, mobile 0477 722 428.