Darren discovers a passion for mental health nursing

Darren has swapped his Bunnings uniform for a stethoscope and is loving his new career path.

Darren had always loved the idea of nursing and caring for people but it wasn’t until he had a young family that he decided to enrol in South West TAFE’s Diploma of Nursing.

He said that during the course he quickly found a passion for mental health nursing and had been working towards that goal ever since.

Darren has just successfully gained a position at South West Healthcare in the mental health unit and loves that he gets to make a difference to people’s lives.

During his studies at South West TAFE Darren was appointed to the Diploma of Nursing Advisory Group where he helped to maintain and improve the delivery of the course.

He said he enjoyed being given the opportunity to speak on behalf of all of the students at these meetings.

Darren was also successful in winning the 2019 Vocational Student of the Year at South West TAFE’s annual graduation and awards ceremony in March 2020.

He is now juggling working at South West Healthcare, helping to care for his three children and will start a Bachelor of Nursing at Deakin University later this year.