Graduate programs

With a place on the NT Graduate Nursing and Midwifery Programs you can expect;

• A dedicated team of Clinical Nurse Education Specialists to provide ongoing support and mentorship throughout the entire 12 months of the NT Health GNMP.
• Program participants will undertake an intensive orientation and workplace readiness program designed specifically for graduate nurses and midwives to prepare and support their initial introduction to providing hospital care in the Northern Territory.
• Supernumerary time is provided each rotation and varied according to your individual needs.
• Participants of the Graduate Program are offered great professional development opportunities with regular educational in-services, protected time off the ward to partake in regular debrief sessions run by program educators and a quality improvement project.
• Regular ward visits by the program educators offer ongoing support in the clinical setting.

Nursing

Nursing graduates are generally allocated two six-month clinical rotations. However, some hospitals and clinical areas have 12 month specialty clinical rotations in areas such as the Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department, Paediatrics, Oncology and Operating Theatres.

Nursing rotations may include but are not limited to the following clinical areas:

• palliative care
• general surgery
• neonatal intensive care
• paediatrics
• renal dialysis
• mental health services
• cancer care services.

Midwifery

Midwifery graduates are generally allocated three or four clinical rotations depending on the hospital and clinical area.

Midwifery rotations include:

• antenatal clinics
• birthing/delivery suites
• postnatal ward
• domiciliary care
• special care nursery
• Midwifery Group Practice (caseload).

The unique profile of Territorians means that you will have unparalleled opportunities to experience complex care provision. Working in hospitals across the NT allows you flexibility to learn and experience a wide range of specialities that you would not experience in larger metropolitan areas. This provides our nurses and midwives with the opportunity to progress their careers through unique experiences in remote and regional areas of Australia, with the opportunity to further your career in post graduate studies after the program.

As a nursing/midwifery graduate with NT Health you will receive support and education from clinical educators as well as experienced nurses and midwives.

They will:

• facilitate your transition into practice and enable professional and personal development opportunities.

This includes debriefing sessions, case study presentations, quality improvement activities and mentorship when looking beyond your graduate program. Once accepted into the graduate program you will be able to nominate a preference for clinical areas and wards you would like to work in. Clinical rotations are allocated based on graduates nominations and availability.

Some areas are very popular and demand can be high for these positions, every effort is taken to place you in one of your preferred clinical areas however, due to availability not all preferences are guaranteed.

To be eligible to apply for the 2025 Graduate Nurse and Midwife Programs you must:

• be a final year student who is due to complete within the next 12 weeks of an approved program of study or have completed an approved program between December 2022 and March 2025.
• Be registered as an enrolled nurse, registered nurse or registered midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, (including all English testing if required) prior to 30th June 2025.  Failure to meet this eligibility requirement will result in cancellation of your offer. Your registration will determine which intake you are allocated.
• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a visa allowing, full-time employment in Australia prior to commencement.

Note - Failure to provide evidence of ongoing working rights 4 weeks prior to your commencement date may result in your program offer being rescinded.

• Have less than six months full time equivalent experience as an enrolled nurse, registered nurse and/ or registered midwife, as relevant to the approved program of study prior to applying.
• Not have commenced an equivalent transition program within NT Health.

How and when to apply

Please read before applying.

Applications to the GNMP 2025 will open in May 2024 and will remain open until early 2025. The commencement of the program will vary slightly depending on each region.

To apply you must be have commenced or due to commence your final semester of your final year of studies.

Only complete applications will be considered. If you do not submit all the required documents or should the documents not meet the requirements, your application will not be progressed for assessment.

In order to give yourself the best possible chance of securing a graduate program position it is worthwhile taking the time to prepare your application and ensure that it meets with the essential requirements.

Review the following information carefully and use it when preparing your application.

• Check eligibility to apply
• Research which region or regions you would like to work
• Prepare application
• Ensure your nominated referees are aware they will be contacted to provide a reference
• Prepare all the required documentation prior to commencing your online application
• Ensure documents are saved using the required naming conventions – see below

It is in your best interest to ensure that your application has been submitted with all relevant paperwork, failing to do so will delay your application being reviewed.   Please note only complete applications will be processed.

Cover letter

Your cover letter should be addressed to the selection panel covering the Essential Selection Criteria of the Job Descriptions as well as showcasing your interest, skills and experience.

Nursing and midwifery recognise that upholding the values of NT Health ‘Safe, Responsive, Kind’ are essential to providing exceptional care. In your cover letter please make reference to ‘Safe, Responsive, Kind’ and describe how as a new graduate you would contribute to these NT Health values.

Resume

Your resume should provide an overview of your education and work experience as relevant to the GNMP.

Essential Selection Criteria

The selection panel will use all of the information you provide to assess your merit against the essential selection criteria.

Enrolled Nurse

1. Current registration as an enrolled nurse with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia
2. Demonstrated understanding of, and ability to co-ordinate, client care resulting in positive clinical outcomes.
3. Demonstrated written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills to contribute effectively within the multidisciplinary team.
4. Demonstrated understanding of the impact of social and cultural challenges experienced by vulnerable groups/communities and the role of the nurse/midwife in supporting them.
5. Knowledge and application of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) principles in a health care setting.

Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife

1. Current registration as a registered nurse or registered midwife with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia.
2. Demonstrated understanding of, and ability to co-ordinate, client care resulting in positive clinical outcomes.
3. Demonstrated written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills to contribute effectively within the multidisciplinary team.
4. Demonstrated understanding of the impact of social and cultural challenges experienced by vulnerable groups/communities and the role of the nurse/midwife in supporting them.
5. Knowledge and application of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) principles in a health care setting.

References / Referees

We value referee comments very highly, so please ensure your referee understands the need to provide as much detail as required for the panel to adequately understand how your skills and experience will be of value in the Graduate Nurse and Midwife Program.

Your nominated referees must be from a registered nurse/ midwife who was directly involved in supervising you while on clinical placement, preferably for a minimum period of 5 working days.

Appropriate referees include a Nurse Unit Manager, Clinical Nurse Manager, Educator, Clinical Facilitator, Clinical Liaison Lecturer or similar.

It is important you ensure your referees are willing and available to provide a referee report for you. It is good practice to contact your referee and remind them of the dates they worked with you as sometimes they may need a reminder of when you have completed your placement with their unit.

Your nominated referees will be sent an electronic referee report to complete so please ensure to provide their correct email address in your application. If we do not receive a response from your referee it will delay your application progressing.

Clinical Placement Reports

Your Clinical Placement Reports must be from your 2^nd or 3rd year and completed by two different people who have been directly involved in your supervision or education in a clinical setting.

Note: Clinical Placement Reports must be a minimum four week placement duration (two week placement reports will not be accepted).

Your summative Clinical Placement Reports must include the following:

• hospital/ place the placement took place
• period of placement
• clinical area
• specialty area, name of the ward/ department

Academic Transcript

The panel will consider your academic performance as part of their assessment. You must provide your Academic Transcript(s) which clearly states GPA/WAM score, including education provider logo and a results legend.

If you are applying for a position on the Graduate Enrolled Nurse Program you must provide your current academic transcript.

Please provide details on your current nursing/midwifery qualification, including your education provider name in full, for example ‘Charles Darwin University’ not ‘CDU’.

Northern Territory Health uses the merit principles to assess applicant’s suitability for the role. In addition to assessing against merit, the panel will consider the following demographic information to determine priority order:

1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants

Find out more on the requirements of Special measures in recruitment.

The Northern Territory Public Sector (NTPS) values diversity and aims to achieve a workforce that is representative of the community we serve, and is committed to improving recruitment, retention and career development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. To support this Special Measures Priority Consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants applies to the Graduate Nurse and Midwife Programs.

2. NT Residents

Are you considered an NT resident

For the purposes of this process, to be considered an NT resident under special consideration you must:

• hold Australian Citizenship or permanent residency, and
• have resided with a permanent address in the NT for a total of at least two years of the last six years, or resided with a permanent address in the NT for a total of at least five years since commencing primary school

3. Interstate residents

For the purposes of this process, to be considered an Interstate resident you must:

• hold Australian Citizenship or permanent residency, and
• resides elsewhere in Australia and does not meet NT resident requirements as per above

4. International candidates

Applicants who do not currently hold Australian citizenship/Australian Permanent Residency/New Zealand Citizenship. These applicants are international students who are studying/working in Australia on temporary study/work visas at the time they are completing their studies.

Other areas of priority consideration

NT Health Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing/Midwifery (RUSoN/M)

Those currently employed at an NT Health facility as a Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing/Midwifery (RUSoN/M) are still required to complete their application to the GNMP portal. If you are a current NT Health employee (RUSONM or enrolled nurse) ensure you select the appropriate drop down in the application form.

Australian Defence Force Members

If you are a Nursing Officer with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and need to complete your two year graduate program. To apply as an ADF graduate select 'ADF Graduate Nurse Program' as your program preference.

Enrolled nurses transitioning to Registered Nurses

If you are an experienced enrolled nurse who has recently completed their studies to become a registered nurse, you will be eligible to complete a 6 month fast track program.

Please note: regardless of priority consideration, applicants must meet the selection criteria to the required standard to be deemed successful in the process.

We do things a bit differently in the Territory – the first thing to be aware of is that your application will be used in totality to assess your suitability for a position on the graduate program.  This means no face to face interviews.  You will be required to complete your application in detail with appropriate references to validate your experience, skills and performance.

Each regional hospital offers a full program or a rotation of the GNMP. The number of positions available vary according to service and operational needs of the service.

When completing your application you will be asked to nominate your location preferences. Based on this you will be prompted to nominate your preferred location and a secondary location. You will also have the opportunity to select whether you are open to other opportunities for places available across the Northern Territory.

Nomination of your preferred location doesn't guarantee you will be offered this area. Please don't nominate a preference that you do not intend to accept.

Every effort will be taken to support your nominated location. However to ensure we provide care where it's needed most, places are allocated according to vacancies across our services.

The panel will use the merit principle in reviewing your application, which determines suitability:

• having regard to the person’s knowledge
• skills
• qualifications and experience
• potential for future development.

Employment offered on a full-time and part-time (0.8) basis.

If you receive an offer you will have 5 business days to accept or decline. If no response is given it will be assumed you are declining the offer and no further offers will be made to you.

Failure to meet employment conditions

Once you have accepted your offer the Graduate Education Team will provide you with information regarding program intake dates and contract information.

Prior to commencing you must be registered as an enrolled nurse, registered nurse or registered midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, (including all English testing if required).  Your registration will determine which intake you are allocated. Failure to meet this eligibility requirement will result in rescindment of your offer.

Prior to commencing you must have secured a visa allowing ongoing, full-time employment in Australia prior to commencement and last the length of the program. Failure to provide evidence of ongoing working rights 4 weeks prior to your commencement date may result in your program offer being rescinded.

Note – If you are unable to meet the required employment conditions of the GNMP 2025 your program offer will be rescinded.

When applying to the Graduate Nursing and Midwifery Program 2025 you are applying to the overall program, not specific intakes. Intakes will be decided based on multiple factors including when you apply, your registration status and availability of positions.

The Graduate Nursing and Midwifery Program 2025 intakes vary across our regions.

• Alice Springs Hospital - Intakes every 2 months.
• Katherine Hospital - Intakes dates dependant on a service need.
• Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospitals - Four intake dates throughout the year; January, March, August, October
• Tennant Creek Hospital
• Gove District Hospital - Rotations may be available through the Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospital program.

Upon completion, you will be provided with a certificate at the graduate ceremony and be placed in a great position to continue an exciting and fulfilling career within NT Health as a Nurse or Midwife.

To secure ongoing employment after the graduate program, you will be guided through the process by the graduate education team.

To find out more about living and working in the NT visit the Clinical Recruitment website.