VET & TAFE
campusreview.com.au
From tradie to nurse
The men who could help
fill the nursing shortfall.
By Conor Burke
A
s our population continues to grow
and age, the demand for nurses
keeps rising. By 2023, the number
of registered nurses that will be needed
in Australia is expected to hit 330,900, up
from 279,600 in 2018, leaving a shortfall of
51,300 positions.
There will also be an estimated 147,000
job openings – from nursing turnover and
new jobs – and it stands to reason that
encouraging more men to the profession
would be an important step in filling
these gaps.
Nursing is one of the few industries in
which women are in the majority – 87.7
per cent of nurses are female, according
to government figures.
Australian College of Nursing chief
executive Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward
told the Nine newspapers last year that
attracting and retaining men to the nursing
profession “would certainly diversify the
workforce and help address this looming
shortage”.
Ben Jones is one of a number of new
male nurses hoping to fill that gap.
Aged 36, with a mortgage, a wife and
a newborn, Ben decided he needed a
change. He’d had enough of the physically
demanding waste management trade he’d
worked in since leaving school.
“For some reason, I wanted to go to
university and see if I was capable,” he says.
“And when my daughter was born, I was
in the hospital with my wife and really liked
the service that was provided by the nurses,
and I just thought, ‘What an awesome way
to contribute to society’.”
Financial realities meant Ben couldn’t go
straight into a university degree. Instead,
he chose to study a Diploma of Nursing
at TAFE NSW, where he could become an
enrolled nurse, continue his studies and be
on the way to becoming a registered nurse
while working and earning.
“I hadn’t studied full-time since 1999 when
I finished high school, so I think TAFE NSW
was a good avenue to take.
“I had completed a couple of other
courses with TAFE. I found that the teachers
were always helpful and knowledgeable,
probably much more so this time around
with the Diploma of Nursing course,” he says.
After more than a decade since leaving
school, however, Ben found academic life
challenging.
“It was difficult. I was expecting it to be
hard, but probably not as hard as it was,”
he said.
“I hadn’t studied biology or anatomy
and physiology prior to doing the enrolled
nursing course. A lot of people in my class
were pretty proficient at the biology, even
the computer studies and things like that …
I just felt like I was clunkier.”
But the TAFE system suited Ben. He
says that they were understanding of
people in his situation and provided him
with the support and, importantly, the
encouragement he needed to carry on.
Another big change was being one of
only a few men in the room after many
years as a tradie.
“I knew that would be the case,” he said.
“But I like that nursing is a team. And if
you’re unsure, so far with my 10 weeks of
clinical placement, I’ve found that nurses
as a whole are super willing to share their
knowledge and experience and help. And
that’s something that I didn’t anticipate, but
I really have embraced.”
As his TAFE graduation looms, and with
a job at Sydney’s Concord Hospital lined
up, Ben is excited.
He eventually hopes to move into the
mental health space, as he believes his local
community needs more help in this area.
He is also looking forward to getting a
pay cheque again.
“On a selfish level, I’m looking forward to
getting back into paid work and the routine
of work, even though it’s shift work. I’m
looking forward to being able to provide for
my family again,” he says.
“And also, I’m looking forward to the
next step, which hopefully for me will
be university. And I’m looking forward to
seeing if I’m capable and if I can better my
life in a way that maybe I didn’t think was
possible up until a few years ago.”
Ben is much happier in general than
before. He credits his supportive family and
his wife, who was able to support him while
he studied. He believes he has brought
the problem-solving skills that nursing has
taught him back to his family life.
“I’m excited. I think my wife’s excited.
She’s sick of me sitting at home in front
of a laptop punching out assignments;
she’s ready for me to be back at work,”
he jokes.
“I was stale in my old job, and I’m a lot
happier now. I feel like the immediate
payback is I’m contributing more positively
to my family.” ■
23