News

Faces of Joondalup – Brooke Newcombe

Jan 17, 2024

Brooke Newcombe was a hairdresser for 18 years before she enrolled in university to pursue her dream of working in healthcare.

Today she is a Ramsay cadet and a perioperative Assistant in Nursing in Joondalup Health Campus which means she cares for patients before, during and immediately after their surgery.

As part of the Ramsay Cadetship Program, Brooke completes all her clinical placements that form part of her Bachelor of Nursing degree at JHC and is guaranteed an interview for Ramsay’s Graduate Pathways Program, a two year program which supports new graduates and interns to transition from study to the workforce.

An added benefit of being a cadet was the opportunity for Brooke to take up an Assistant in Nursing (AIN) role when she reached the half-way point in her nursing degree.

“I started in the casual AIN pool and worked on many different wards including geriatric medicine and palliative care, and had the opportunity to join the perioperative team on an ongoing basis last September, which was a great opportunity to be exposed to a different specialty,” Brooke said.

“I wanted to become an AIN during my studies so that I could gain important hands-on experience with patients and be exposed to as many different specialties as possible before making a decision about where I would like to specialise post-graduation,” she said.

As an AIN, Brooke’s role consists of pre-empting what the nurses in the department need in order for their day to run smoothly. This includes assisting with patient pre-operative check-in's, ensuring supplies are fully stocked and accessible, gathering and putting away equipment, and, importantly, ensuring patients are comfortable.

“Sometimes, this means staying with a patient who may be feeling anxious before or after a surgery to help keep them calm, or relaying their concerns to the team so they can be addressed,” Brooke said.  

Brooke says she was attracted to working at JHC to be part of a company from the start of her career that was so invested in supporting her to finish her studies and securing a post-graduate position. She has always felt supported and appreciated in her role as an AIN and cadet.

“I love that the nurses I work with understand and support my learning as a nursing student and facilitate extra learning opportunities for me, whenever possible,” Brooke said.

The cadetship program has helped eased some of the pressure associated with clinical placements in the bachelor's degree.

“I have two young children and live locally so a big motivator for taking part in the program was knowing that my clinical placements would all be within five minutes of my home, which allows me to save on travel time and have a better work life balance.

“Being part of the Ramsay Cadetship Program has also enabled me to make real connections within the facility which allows me to gain the most out of my experiences while on placement or within my AIN role because I am more familiar with the facility regulations and their systems.”