Registered nurse Lachlan Pols was among those accepted into the six-month program, which was designed to support and educate new anaesthetic and recovery room nurses.

“If you’ve never done anaesthetics before, it’s a great opportunity to get yourself into the door,” Mr Pols said.

Bendigo Health nurse educator Nadia Ticehurst said the health service had identified a great need to develop knowledge and education about anaesthetics and recovery, both within its staff and in Loddon Mallee.

“This course doesn’t actually exist in this region at the moment,” she said.

She said staff formerly had to study online or in Melbourne to be able to work independently as anaesthetic nurses.

“With the increase in patient acuity within the region, and also the new development of the helipad by the end of the year, we’ll be getting much more unwell and sicker patients to Bendigo Health,” Ms Ticehurst said.

She expected the course would attract the attention of nurses working at other health services within the region too, once it was available to external applicants.

“Regional Victoria is crying out for highly skilled nurses, as is Melbourne, but we’d rather keep them here,” Ms Ticehurst said.

With the first student cohort only weeks away from the start of the course in February, Bendigo Health is already planning for a second intake in July.

Ms Ticehurst said there was high demand for the program, which is affiliated with La Trobe University and will provide credit points towards post-graduate studies.

“They complete the first six months with us, with the study days and clinical experience, and then they can go on and complete another subject with La Trobe University and they will graduate with a graduate certificate,” she said.

“Then it’s up to the student individually if they want to go on and do a diploma or a masters.”

The course was piloted by Bendigo Health in the latter half of last year.

“Two people did the pilot program, plus people came in and did the study days when they could get study leave appropriate to the need on the floor,” Ms Ticehurst said.

She said the course had the approval of the director of anaesthetics and took into consideration the guidelines of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation.

Career development opportunities were part of what attracted Mr Pols, formerly of Adelaide, to Bendigo Health.

He said not everyone had the opportunity to undertake study programs in specialty areas such as peri-anaesthetic nursing.

“Bendigo Health is offering quite a few [programs] at the moment,” Mr Pols said.

Ms Ticehurst said a ‘massive shortage’ of experienced peri-anaesthetic, anaesthetic and recovery nurses had prompted Bendigo Health’s new program.

“It came from the theory of, if we can’t recruit experienced nurses, we train our own,” she said.

“By doing that, you’re promoting support and education within the department.”