At Ormiston Hospital, clinical excellence doesn’t happen by chance. It’s built through continuous learning, collaboration and a strong commitment to improving patient outcomes.
Education sits at the heart of how we work: Supporting our staff, strengthening our standards to ensure our patients receive safe, evidence-based care every day.
And within the education department, 2026 has begun with a bang!
A dedicated education team
A big milestone this year has been welcoming our first Clinical Coach, Jeanette, to the team. She supports both the Ward and Endoscopy and has hit the ground running with on-floor clinical support across the hospital.
Jeanette also covers the hospital Clinical Informatics Nurse role (busy gal!), taking the lead in any digital platform changes and rollouts.
Behind the scenes, our Education Team lead by Michelle works continuously to ensure education standards are met, maintained and strengthened. From structured orientation programmes to competency oversight and professional development support, they help create clear learning pathways for every stage of a clinical career at Ormiston.
Supporting our new graduates
We recently welcomed four New Graduate Registered Nurses to Ormiston – Jasleen and Mele into the Ward, Jacey into Endoscopy and Melissa into Theatres.
They underwent their first week doing a comprehensive orientation with the education team before joining their departments. They are all doing amazing, enjoying their time, and growing before our eyes.
We’re also proud to celebrate our 2025 NETP graduates (Nursing Entry to Practice Programme), who all met their new graduate year requirements before the end of 2025. We are so proud of you all!
Investing in early-career nurses strengthens not only our hospital, but the wider healthcare workforce.
Welcoming students into the hospital
Education at Ormiston extends beyond just our employed staff.
We currently have two second-year nursing students from MIT on placement in the Ward and Pre-op. This is their first hospital placement, so they are enjoying having their eyes opened to the world of surgical nursing. A huge thank you to the area preceptors who for showing them the ropes, guide and support them.
This semester we’re also expecting a further ten students for their placements from MIT, UoA and AUT.
We are also accommodating some school students from Sancta Maria College every Thursday for the month of March. They will be spending 4 hours with either the Physio or on the ward, buddied with a nursing preceptor. These students have an interest in healthcare and this may be the very beginning of a future career in this industry!
Setting the standard
Since July 2025, we’ve been using the Learning Hub platform to manage mandatory training and education compliance.
We’re proud to be the only hospital within the Southern Cross network to reach 100% compliance with all mandatory training for the last two quarters of 2025 – and we’re aiming to achieve the same again this quarter. Currently, we’re sitting at 82.1% complete.
Southern Cross has also introduced the new ‘Refreshed PDRP Framework’ for all clinical staff. Our Education Team has been running in-services to guide staff through the changes and ensure everyone understands what it means for their professional development.
This isn’t about ticking boxes – it’s about maintaining high standards and supporting clinical growth.
Growing skills across the team
We’re preparing to train our third cohort of Healthcare Assistants at the end of February. This brings our healthcare assistants’ work to a very high level, and they are a very important part of our healthcare team.
Other upcoming internal education includes:
- Urology workshops
- ECG workshops
- Phlebotomy and cannulation workshops
- NETP Clinical Skills Day
- We also actively support staff attending external study days and undertaking postgraduate study, including funding support where appropriate.
Education as part of who we are
Education at Ormiston isn’t a one-off session or an annual requirement. It’s woven into the way we operate – on the floor, in workshops, in mentorship conversations and through structured professional pathways.
It shows up in the way experienced nurses support students on placement. In the pride we feel watching our new graduates grow. In the effort our teams put into workshops, compliance, digital improvements and professional development.
If you’re a healthcare professional looking to grow in a supportive, high-performing environment, we’d love to hear from you.
Learn more about careers at Ormiston Hospital.