The Class of 2022 nominated two peers for a special award. 

A cohort of Sydney Local Health District nurses have graduated from its Transition Program into Mental Health Nursing. 

The program has been running in various forms for more than 30 years, helping nurses develop the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality and evidence-based care to people experiencing mental health challenges and trauma. 

This year’s graduation ceremony was attended by Jacqui Cross, NSW Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and Ivanka Komusanac, Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery, Sydney Local Health District. 

Designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice, it has continuously evolved with feedback from participants, including its Class of 2022. In 2023, the program expanded with more facilitators, said Lance Takiari, Director of Nursing for the District’s Mental Health Service. 

“This program underpins the key theory to practice skills that enable already passionate registered nurses entering our Mental Health Service,” he added. 

Cameron Gullick, Registered Nurse in the Peter Beamont Unit at the Professor Marie Bashir Centre, and James Kim, Registered Nurse in the McKay Unit at the Concord Centre for Mental Health, were both awarded Peer Nominated Graduate of the Year for their contribution to and work within the program. 

"Completing my mental health transition program has been both challenging and rewarding, providing me many opportunities for me to learn and grow as a nurse," James said.  

"I am very grateful for all the staff who supported me along the way, and I want to give a special thanks to the Manning and McKay unit of Concord Centre for Mental Health." 

The program supports early career and experienced registered nurses new to the mental health specialty to make the transition. 

Nurses rotate locations three times during the program and graduate with capabilities to provide excellent, patient centred care.