Princess Alexandra Hospital’s ICU Transition Program is clocking up the milestones this week celebrating 25 years since the first graduate nurse finished, and the 500th nurse to graduate the program.
Registered Nurse Emma Veneris was more than proud to represent her role as the 500th graduate of the program that has offered so much support to her and generations of other nurses.
“Meeting Brad and Petra at a Graduate Open Day stall at PAH changed the course of my nursing,” she said. “I was a USIN* working on level 4 at PA with the intention of applying for a graduate position in that area but after meeting them, I was so inspired that I applied for the Transition Program in ICU.”
This would become a turning point in her career offering autonomy, a team that helped build confidence in her nursing practice, and new opportunities for skills development that aren’t available in the wards.
“Becoming a specialist nurse in ICU comes with opportunities for continued training to take cardiac patients, renal replacement therapy; there are so many specialist areas that involve more opportunities to learn,” Emma said.
The transition program has supported staff like Clinical Nurse Elizabeth (Libby) Pauli who completed the transition program in the first cohort in 2000 when it was voluntary and has continued working at PA Hospital for 30 years now – 27 of those in ICU.
“ICU is a great career decision and I’ve loved every minute of being an Intensive Care nurse – it is a different way of life and I love the people I work with.”
ICU nursing also changed the career trajectory for Libby who went on to do a Graduate Certificate in critical care nursing which allowed her to move into Clinical Nurse roles and various Grade 7 management roles over the years.
PA Hospital’s ICU Transition Program, led by ICU Nurse Educators Petra Strube and Joe Jennings, is one of 22 sites in Queensland now running this training program for nurses specialising in ICU nursing and Petra was a key contributor to latest Version 7 of the statewide program released in 2025.
“PAH is proud to have contributed 500 graduates over the past 25 years to the statewide capability which is now in the thousands thanks to the strength of the program across Queensland.
“Almost every member of our 230 PAH ICU nursing staff has been through this training program but a lot of its success is due to ALL the ICU nurses whose day-to-day bedside teaching and skills training supported those going through the program,” Joe said.
To be part of the 2026 New Graduate ICU Transition Program, come along to the Graduate Open Day at PAH later this year. Dates will be advertised here.
*USIN – University Student in Nursing