Mental Health Graduate Nurse Program

Interested in joining our Mental Health Graduate RN Program or our Blended Mental Health & Emergency Department Program 2025?

We're hosting information sessions on Wednesday 5 June 2024, from 4pm to 5.30pm (in person), and Thursday 13 June 2024, 4pm - 5.30pm (online).

Sign up here: St Vincent's Mental Health Information Sessions

2025 Mental Health Graduate Nurse Position Description
2025 Blended Mental Health Emergency Department Graduate Nurse Position Description

Why work for St Vincent's Mental Health

Are you looking for your next challenge with a value driven culture?

Are you inspired to contribute to a changing clinical landscape?

Do you want to work with a service that cares about their people?

We believe that people have the capacity to recover, reclaim and transform their lives and strive to support individuals on their recovery journey

We want to help you grow into competent and capable clinicians to support all those we work with!

Employee Benefits 

  • Opportunity to work in the heart of vibrant Fitzroy
  • 0.8 EFT to promote work-life balance 
  • Salary packaging
  • Five weeks annual leave
  • Staff GP health clinic
  • Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 
  • Weekly supervision
  • Supportive learning environment
  • Rotations across different parts of the SVHM Mental Health Services
  • Opportunity for ongoing employment upon successful completion of graduate program

Clinical Rotations 

St Vincent’s Mental Health provides inpatient, community, and specialist mental health care across a range of sites, including aged and adult services.

To ensure you maximise your learning and consolidate your skills, graduates rotate worksites across adult acute (AIS), community services (Clarendon or Hawthorn Clinics, Footbridge CCU), AOD services (Depaul House), AIS Group Program and Older Adult Mental Health (Normanby).

All graduates complete a rotation on one of the wards of the Adult Inpatient Service (AIS), and are able to preference other areas of interest. Please see the job advertisement and position description on Workday or attend our information sessions to learn more about our clinical services. 

On each rotation you will be allocated a preceptor to support and assist you in that particular clinical area. Our Clinical Nurse Educators and Graduate Support Nurse provide direct support and supervision to foster transformation of theory into practice, assisting your development into a well-rounded mental health clinician. 

Graduate Positions 

  • 15x positions - 12-month Mental Health Program recruited via PMCV for January start
  • 6x positions for Blended Mental Health / Emergency Department recruited via PMCV for January start

Study Requirements 

The Mental Health Graduate Year contains over 20+ study days on a range of topics to support you to become a well-rounded clinician.

  • Supporting consumers who use substances
  • Recovery Model of Mental Health Care
  • Risk assessment and formulation
  • Physical Health
  • Shift-Leading
  • Mental Health Wellbeing Act (2022)
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Working with suicide and self-harm
  • And many more!

The academic component of the graduate program comprises of 4x assessments, 2x case presentations and clinical competencies. Each assessment is tailored to your place of work and is relevant to your career growth and clinical skills.

Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive recognition of prior learning (RPL) when you enrol into post-graduate diploma in mental health nursing the following year.

How to Apply 

Mental Health and the Blended Mental Health & Emergency Department Programs

Applications open Monday May 27th 2024
Applications close Friday June 21st 2024 
(in-line with PMCV GNMP Match)

Applying for our Mental Health Graduate Nurse Program 

PMCV Match Applications (January):

  • Register with PMCV (GNMP Match)
  • Complete the online application for St Vincent’s Graduate Nurse Program via Workday on our website

If you are wanting to apply for multiple streams at St Vincent’s, you will need to complete and submit separate application, and separate rankings on PMCV.

Step 1 - Preparing your online application 

The following documents are to be uploaded (Word document or PDF):

  • Letter of application, addressed to The Mental Health Education Team Leader (Marcie Regester) outlining why you wish to be a Mental Health Graduate Nurse at St Vincent’s (maximum of one page).
  • Please ensure you have clearly outlined which program you are applying for (either Blended ED/MH or 12-months Mental Health) 
  • Curriculum vitae/resume (maximum of 3 pages).
  • Academic transcript to date, with results legend.
  • 2x copies of your most recent clinical placement reports. Reports must be sent in their entirety and not selected parts or pages. If your reports are paper based, they will need to be certified (electronic placement reports do not need certification)
  • Preferably one of your reports should be from your most recent mental health placement, unless you have not completed this yet.

Additional Informaion Required: 

  • The name and details of two referees (one must be a Clinical Teacher, Preceptor or a senior nurse to whom you have recently reported to in mental health). 
  • Ensure you inform your referee of your intention to list them.
  • All components of the application are considered when shortlisting applicants for interview. Notification for interview will be via email.
  • If you require assistance submitting your application online contact St Vincent’s People & Organisational Development (HR) on 03 9231 1500.

Step 2 - Attending an Interview 

  • All our graduate interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams, and are in a group interview format.
  • If your application is successful, and you are offered an interview, we will give you more information regarding the interview process at that time.
  • Interviews will be conducted after the Monday 8 July to mid-August.

Step 3 - Outcome of PMCV GNMP Match

  • PMCV GNMP Match results will be released on Wednesday 4 September, 2024 at 10am. 
  • If you are successfully matched to St Vincent’s you will be contacted by phone after the results have been released.

Contact Mental Health Education Team

If you would like more information, please address enquiries to: 

St Vincent’s Mental Health Education Team
Email: MHTrainingEducation@svhm.org.au
Phone: 03 9231 2194 or 03 9231 4122