Scholarships gives two nurses a second chance to continue their profession in Australia

Two women members from Iran who have combined 24 years of nursing experience, will now have the opportunity to continue working in their chosen profession after securing scholarships for the Diploma of Nursing with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF).

Access to a career in nursing in Australia has not been easy. Both members who are part of ASRC’s Education program waited over six months to gain entry into a course. Another had originally been enrolled into the Diploma of Nursing at Victoria University but was unable to continue due to changes in Government regulation which rendered the cost of the course no longer affordable.

The nurses also had to sit the VET ASSESS test which is no easy feat. One of them scored better than any applicant the ANMF had ever seen – incredible! Their application included a short essay on why they would be great candidates for the course and an asset to their chosen field, in addition to a formal interview. All up the process took over two months.

For a number of years, the ANMF has offered the ASRC the opportunity to apply for scholarships however we have never had a candidate of a high enough caliber to apply.

Originally the scholarship was for one member only, but in light of last minute additional funding and and because the ANMF were so impressed with the ASRC’s first candidate they offered us a second place.