When Lucy Newman was fighting for her life against leukaemia, nurses gave her the strength and support she needed to beat the disease.
Now the Springfield Lakes 21-year-old is giving back to nursing after graduating from Mater Education’s Diploma of Nursing program.
Lucy is one of a record 173 students graduating from the Mater Education diploma course on January 22 and has already secured her first role as an Enrolled Nurse at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane.
“I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when I was nine,” she said.
“I had been fatigued and complaining of pain for six months, but after going back and forth to the doctors we didn’t get any answers.”
It wasn’t until she collapsed at home that she received her diagnosis.
“I was taken to the hospital and the test results finally came back. It was cancer.”
Lucy fought leukaemia for three years and finally went into remission after receiving a bone marrow transplant. The experience left her with a passion for nursing and a desire to make a meaningful difference to the lives of patients.
“My illness is what got me into nursing,” she said.
“I loved the way the nurses cared for me and I wanted to give back to the community in the same way.”
Lucy and her fellow graduates were able to study fee-free over 18 months thanks to the Queensland Government’s Free Nursing initiative.
The Queensland Government is providing 2000 free Diploma of Nursing training places this year, with an estimated 21,300 new nurses needed in the health workforce by 2032.
Around 940 trainee nurses will study with Mater Education in Brisbane, Springfield and Townsville in 2026.
“The educators at Mater are amazing and give you all the support you need,” Lucy said.
“They knew of my background and understood my experience, so they could help me in the way that suited me.
“Being on the oncology ward for placement at Mater Hospital Brisbane was a little bit confronting, given my background.
“Somehow, my personal experience as a chemotherapy patient always came out to the patients in my care. It put them more at ease and allowed me to connect with them more deeply since they could relate to me.
“It was incredibly rewarding.”
Mater Education’s Diploma of Nursing Senior Manager Clare Cureton said Lucy was a nursing natural.
“Lucy’s empathy for patients, combined with her clinical skills, will help her become an outstanding nurse,” Ms Cureton said.
“We’re so pleased she is joining the team at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane, but there are exciting opportunities in nursing in every part of the state.
“Free nursing training is a huge opportunity for those wanting to start their healthcare career.”
Applicants for the Free Nursing initiative must live in Queensland and be Australian citizens or permanent residents to be eligible for a fee-free Diploma of Nursing.
To find out more go to matereducation.qld.edu.au.
