FIRST year nurses at the Lyell McEwin Hospital (LMH) have banded together in a show of support for their Victorian colleagues as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the state.

Across Australia, the public health sector has been forced to change the way it treats patients in hospitals as new COVID-safe practices and regulations have been brought in to keep healthcare professionals and patients safe.

Victoria has been the state worst hit by the coronavirus, recording more than 15,000 cases more than the next-most affected state, New South Wales.

To show support for Victorian health workers on the COVID-19 front line, a group of LMH first-year nurses have got together to write letters of encouragement for their colleagues in the state also experiencing the start of their career during an unprecedented public health event.

Graduate nurse Kareena Christian said while working in South Australia’s hospitals had been tough, she knows Victorian’s have faced an even greater challenge.

“Being a graduate nurse means you’re starting at the bottom, so you’re already feeling quite humble and vulnerable,” she said.

“For them to go to work and receive a letter from graduates in South Australia I think helps them to realise there are people who are thinking of them.

“We have been extremely lucky here and we recognise their circumstance is even more dire.

“We really are thinking of them and we really admire them for just turning up at work regardless of how they’re doing.

“It’s a year beyond anything we could ever imagine and the fact that they’re working there and doing their best is incredible.”

Fellow graduate nurse Melissa Delmonico said they wanted Victorian healthcare workers to know they are not alone.

“What they’re feeling is exactly what we’re feeling,” she said. “They may feel like they’re sinking one day and we sometimes feel like we’re sinking too.

“We’re all in the same boat and we’re all going to get through it eventually.”