Every student who finishes this year and applied to a graduate program has been successful and will be working next year.

And a number of those will be keeping their hard-earned skills in the region, staying on to work at Bunbury Regional and St John of God Hospital.

There are also more nurses graduating this year than there have been in previous years, according to coordinator of nursing Sue Tencer.

“During our nursing Expo which runs each May, we have employers from around the State visit the South West Region to encourage our nurses to work for their organisations,” Ms Tencer said.

“Our facilities on campus have just been upgraded, and the tools we use to deliver nursing are state of the art. Plus our classes are small and our teaching staff are recognised for the quality of educational delivery.”

It is these points which the nursing students say have given them an edge over metropolitan trained nurses.

“They know you by name, not by number,” Sarah Gibson said.

“I feel pretty confident (about working next year) because the staff have been really supportive,” she said.

The third year nursing student is in her final weeks of practical training and will start at St John of God when she has graduated.

Fellow students Ivan Young and Andrea Hillas were working at Bunbury Regional Hospital before they started studying and both will continue to work at the hospital after they graduate.

They said the hospital had been supportive of their studies and training, giving them a wide range of experiences in dealing with different types of patients.

The students agreed a mix of family commitments, feeling comfortable in Bunbury and not wanting to up-root their lives were all reasons for choosing to study and work in Bunbury.

There are many pathways ECU offers to get into nursing and 2009 applications are still open. Phone 9780 7777 for more information.