A strong bond with a fellow nurse and help from a recruitment initiative has ensured a central Victorian hospital has one more much-needed staff member secured in its ranks.
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Indian-born ICU nurse Reeja Joseph had always had her sights set on Australia, but had been finding it difficult to cement her place in the country.
But when friend Grishanna Columbus told Ms Joseph of the "wonderful experience" she was having working at Bendigo Health, she became even more hungry to make the change.
"After completing my studies in India in 2008, I moved to a number of countries to try and find a pathway to my goal," she said.
"I've worked in Saudi Arabia and even moved to the UK for a number of years, but all the while I was working on getting what I needed to work in Australia."
Ms Joseph said there were a number of financial challenges and testing that needed to be completed before she could make the move.
However, the state government's pledge to fund the recruitment of more than 700 overseas healthcare workers meant she was able to join 12 others who moved to Bendigo Health since August 2021.
"I remembered one of my friends from university had moved to Bendigo and spoke very highly of the hospital," she said.
"If it hadn't been for Grishanna and her talking to her nurse unit manager to get me an interview, I would have most likely ended up in Melbourne.
"But having someone I knew working with me also ensured I didn't feel homesick."
Ms Joseph said since beginning in the region in April, she was overwhelmed with the positive differences she had seen compared to her previous employers.
"Everyone at Bendigo Health has been so welcoming and it really makes you feel like you want to go to work everyday," she said.
I also feel very safe when working in Australia and the patient-staff ratio is a lot better here.
- Reeja Joseph
"I was working overseas for the most part of the COVID-19 pandemic and it was very eye-opening to see how those hospitals coped.
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"But working in Bendigo has been a bit of a breeze compared to that."
Ms Joseph and other staff who made the move to Bendigo in the last year had the chance to access the state government's allowance scheme to help with relocation costs of up to $10,000 if moving to a metro area, or $13,000 for regional areas.
These additional healthcare workers have helped add more than 22,000 extra healthcare workers to the public health system since 2014, including 8500 who joined the workforce during the pandemic.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the international pipeline of new recruits was "more important than ever" as Victoria's health system continues to experience record-breaking demand for services, while managing the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Attracting new talent and retaining our existing workforce is central to our pandemic repair plan - each and every worker is playing a critical role in getting the health system back on track after a really challenging few years," she said.
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