Combined Mental Health and General Health Graduate Nursing Program

Western Health’s Combined Mental Health and General Health Graduate Nursing  Program aims to provide a supportive environment for new nursing graduates to develop skills and knowledge to care for people who are mentally unwell and to care for people in the acute general hospital. 

At the end of the first year, the graduate nurse will be able to choose to continue on to the post graduate mental health program or continue in the general hospital. 

We are committed to the ongoing professional development of the beginner practitioner in a learning organisation. The combined program consists of study days that will support the graduate nurse to develop their mental health and general health nursing skills.

First year

• The combined mental health graduate program runs for 54 weeks.
• You work 0.8 full-time equivalent (FTE).
• You complete two 6-month rotations.
• One rotation is in mental health.
• One rotation is in acute (general) health.

Rotation options may include:

• acute adult inpatient mental health
• older adult inpatient unit
• secure extended care
• women’s mental health inpatient unit (Ward 4A, Footscray)
• continuing care unit

Second year

• At the end of your first year, you can choose to:
• apply for the mental health postgraduate program, or
• continue in the Grad+ program

Rotations may include:

• two rotations across services, or
• a 12-month placement in a community team

Support 

Clinical Nurse Educators, Graduate and Post Graduate Nurse Coordinator, graduate support nurse. 

Line Managers, Team leaders and Mental Health Intensive Care nurses

Criteria for Completion

• Satisfactory clinical hours
• Attendance at paid professional study days
• Satisfactory completion of each rotation
• Completion of clinical portfolio
• Satisfactory completion of assignments

When you apply via PMCV, you can only select Western Health Graduate Program or Western Health Mental Health Graduate Program. There is no Combined Mental Health Program option in PMCV.

If you want to apply for the Combined Program you need to complete the following steps:

• Submit your PMCV application and preference the program you would choose if you are not successful in entry to the Combined Program
• Apply through Western Health for the Combined Program as well as any other program you have preferenced
• When you apply for the Mental Health Graduate Program or the Graduate Program via Western Health, there will be a question that asks if you are also interested in the combined program - select yes

Please not that places in this program are very limited.

• Must be completing an Undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Nursing in 2026
• Must hold a practicing certificate with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) by 2027

Tuesday 19th May 2026 4:30pm

Microsoft Teams meeting 

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/48012829495521?p=r97gjDo7JjtTmJlYYk 

Meeting ID: 480 128 294 955 21 

Passcode: te3ne9do

 January 2027, other intakes TBC