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Be Your Best: full circle career

Sunday, February 02, 2025 be your best
Be Your Best: full circle career
Tom has made the journey from porter and food assistant to enrolled nurse and now into mental health as a registered nurse.

When Tom finished high school, he wasn’t completely sure where his career would take him.

Following advice from a friend, he took up work as a porter and food assistant through Spotless (now Downer) at Bendigo Health.

Little did he know, this job move would lead him to find his passion.

With a bit of help from Bendigo Health staff and the experiences at work, the now 26-year-old this week started his graduate year as a registered nurse (RN), specialising in mental health.

Tom said what started as a way to make money turned out to be one of the best decisions he had made.

“I knew I wanted to do something in health and I loved talking to people,” he said.

“[Being a porter and food assistant] meant I was moving 20 to 30 patients a day and I got to have short conversations with all of them.

“It was great hearing about their day and being able to put a smile on their face. Sometimes I even got to see them again the next week.”

As he continued to work, Tom’s colleagues told him about studying to be an enrolled nurse (EN) through Bendigo TAFE.

“It was great to know I could study and be more hands-on with my learning,” he said.

“I worked on Ward 4C, which was orthopaedic rehabilitation and then transitioned into the Adult Acute Unit (AAU).”

This was Tom’s first taste of mental health nursing.

“Talking to people was a diagnostic tool,” he said.

“It was amazing to hear all the things these patients had been through, their struggles, and see they still had hope afterwards.

“I loved being an EN, but the glass ceiling was lower, so I decided to do my RN training.”

Tom has come full circle and while it was a longer way around to his dream career, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I was able to come into this industry with a range of life and foundational skills I wouldn’t have had if I’d gone straight into my RN course at university,” he said.

“I’m thankful staff at Bendigo Health were able to be so flexible and allow me to work and study and teach me everything they did.

“It’s been a challenge, but I’m where I need to be, doing what I enjoy.”

Discover how you can be your best with us at https://careers.lmhn.org.au/

Read more Be Your Best stories at https://bendigohealth.org.au/beyourbest