Alicia finds the perfect work-life balance

Alicia completed her Diploma of Nursing at South West TAFE in 2017 and said she was so glad she decided to gain a career in the health field.

“When I finished school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I ended up having an interview at TAFE and sat an exam for nursing and was accepted into the course,” she said.

Alicia said the course was perfect for her lifestyle where she was able to attend classes for three full days a week and work on the family farm for the rest of the week.

“I really enjoyed it – I’m so glad I did it,” she said.

After completing her studies, Alicia took a year off to work on the farm full-time before gaining a permanent part-time nursing position at Cobden District Health in October last year.

Alicia said she loved her job at Cobden District Health was so varied and included everything from giving medication and taking blood to dressing wounds and paperwork.

“It’s so interesting. I love interacting with the patients and working in the medical field you learn something new every day,” she said.

Whenever Alicia is not nursing, she’s back in Timboon, helping to run the family’s dairy farm.

“It’s such a great combo – I love it. I really look forward to spending time with my patients and I’m equally excited to get back to the farm with the cows,” she said.

Alicia said she would recommend the course to anyone interested in a career in the health field.

She said there were so many job opportunities within the Corangamite region and her teachers and studies at South West TAFE had prepared her well for working in the industry.

“We had 30 in our class and we were working as one. We got to know each other really well and we got one-on-one time with our teachers.

“I’ve had friends ask me about the course and I have definitely recommended it to them. I would do it all again,” she said.

Alicia said that while so many opportunities were now available, for the time being she was loving exactly what she was doing.