Sharni Tucker and Akeelah Harrigan celebrate their Deadly Start school-based traineeship graduation in Cooktown. Photo: Supplied.
A childhood spent in and out of hospital has inspired one young Cooktown student to pursue a career in nursing.
Sharni Tucker, who was born with a hole in her left peripheral eardrum and underwent multiple surgeries as a child since the age of four, said the love and care she received from her nurses at the time made her want to become just like them.
After a year of work with the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service, she celebrated her completion of the Deadly Start school-based traineeship program last Wednesday, alongside fellow year 12 student Akeelah Harrigan.
“You’d think for a child who’s been in the hospital all her life that she wouldn’t want to go back to the hospital, but the way the nurses have treated me throughout all my surgeries, it just made me want to become a nurse,” Ms Tucker said.
The Deadly Start school-based traineeship program supports First Nations students with paid, on-the-job training to kickstart their careers in health throughout their final years of high school, helping students transition into employment after graduation in a culturally supportive environment.
Ms Tucker said since July 2024, they had placements in four areas: allied health, community health, administration and nursing, with the students able to choose an area for their cadetship in 2026.
“Nursing was my last placement; I’d been waiting for my nursing placement, and I’m still going to continue it and do a cadetship next year,” she said.
“For me, I’d love to become an RN (registered nurse), because you get to also travel and help people who you don’t know, whereas staying in one place, you know everyone, and it’s nice to go out and give love and support to everyone else, even though you don’t know them.”
She said she found the traineeship to be incredibly supportive, further inspiring her to become that safe person for someone else in the future.
“Even though it’s a tiny community and they do have a bit of a rush around every now and again, they were very supportive in helping us get to where we want to get,” Ms Tucker said.
“They make you feel welcomed … it’s beautiful to see how the nurses treat everyone, not just when you’re in hospital [as a patient], but another person as well.”
