Meet our new healthcare heroes: duo join exclusive programs

Only eight candidates were successful in gaining entry into an exclusive nursing program, but this Canada native says the program is exactly where he is meant to be.

Theatre Nurse Graduate Jonathan Kraegel settles in for 12 months intensive training at St Andrew's Hospital.

Canada native and registered nurse Jonathan Kraegel knew after one visit that Toowoomba was the place that he wanted to settle down, and start a life with his family.

This year, Mr Kraegel will be completing St Andrew’s Hospital’s Graduate Nursing Program, where he will commence eight weeks of intensive training alongside his wife, a doctor, who has also been selected for specialist training at the Toowoomba Hospital.

“I was thrilled to be one of the eight successful candidates to gain entry into the Graduate Nursing Program at St Andrew’s,” he said.

“It was a very competitive field, as I believe there were over 300 applicants from across the country hoping for a position in the Program.

“Now we are settled in Toowoomba and our new roles, my partner and I are working very hard to get through our respective medical training pathways.”

Hospital Graduate Nursing Program Staff Development Co-Ordinator Justine Bruggemann said the program at St Andrew’s was highly competitive, but nearly all the graduates who complete the program choose to stay on at the hospital so the skills obtained stay local.

“‘Our People Do Amazing Things’ is the Hospital’s motto, and that could not be more true of this special group of Graduate Nurses who are working hard to continually improve their nursing skills” she said.

“They are a close knit group who share their experiences at our fortnightly team meetings and each year the candidates report huge growth personally and professionally after finishing the program”.