Questions about the Graduate Nurse Program (Mental and Addiction Health)

The Alfred believes that all our graduates need to consolidate in one area of specialty. You have completed years of rotations and exams in a student role. We believe you now need to consolidate and develop your career. This is in keeping with our Team Nursing philosophy. Our graduates become part of a multi-disciplinary team and work within the inpatient unit as their home base.

Our program is an acute based program and the majority of your time will be with your home base ward. This enables you to consolidate acute assessment and treatment knowledge and skills, essential for your career in any field of mental health. A six-month rotation to Alma Road Community Care Unit will be offered to graduates who are interested in this area.

Excellent. We are seeking out people who will be able to make the transition to more advance practice roles early in their career. We promote on excellence and not years of experience.

You can make an application for any positions available at Alfred Health.

You will complete assessments such as:

• A two-week orentation program and one study day per month thereafter
• A case study and two assignments
• A reflective practice diary
• Clinical Skills Assessments

The Clinical Skills Assessments are competencies based on skills you carry out in every day practice on the in-patient units.

During your graduate year program you will not be formally enrolled in a University course. We do not expect you to go home at night and study online or attend University classes in addition to your graduate year program. As the program is accredited, the assessments you complete will equate to units of study in Post Graduate Mental Health Nursing and you will receive a letter of recognition of prior learning on successful completion of your graduate year.

Upon completion you will be given a choice as to where you enrol for postgraduate study and information concerning the various credit arrangements that we have with Universities. We will offer you study leave to assist with your course commitments. We will assist you with university and scholarship applications.

The Alfred Mental and Addiction Health Graduate Nurse Program offers subjects of credit depending on the University you choose to enrol in.

We have a panel of up to four people including a current graduate and we ensure that our interviews are open and friendly. We ask questions to gain a deeper understanding of who you are and what you will bring to Alfred Mental and Addiction Health. Our current graduates say that they choose Alfred Mental and Addiction Health because we are open, honest and friendly at interview.

We do not rank on marks as we are interested in you as a person, how you will fit with our team and how you will be supportive of our consumers.

At your individual interview you are rated on your response to questions posed by a panel of up to four. We do not group interview as we are focused on you as a person. All interviewees are scored, this includes your interview and referee reports, so please choose your referees well.

We abide by the PMCV Allocation and Placement Service rules and timelines. You will be able to obtain information regarding whether you have been matched with us from the PMCV website on the day the computer match is released to you and The Alfred.

We will endeavour to contact you within the next few days after the results are released. This process will be explained at interview. Rest assured that we can't wait to make contact and invite you to an afternoon tea we provide for all our new graduates to meet the staff that you will be working with.

The afternoon tea is typically held in December.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us on gapsyeducation@alfred.org.au.