A Redcliffe Hospital registered nurse who has loved working with children and families since graduating from university in Melbourne in 2003 has added a USC Bachelor of Midwifery to her career capabilities.

Paediatric nurse Katrina Van Kuyl, 36, of Scarborough, received her USC degree at a ceremony at the Matthew Flinders Performance Centre on the Sunshine Coast last week (Friday 27 September).

“I work with a great team and we try to make what can be a difficult time for patients as enjoyable as possible,” said Katrina, who moved to Queensland from Victoria 12 years ago.

“As a nurse with my new midwifery skills, I'm able to offer new mothers extra care and support with sleep, settling and feeding their newborn babies.”

Katrina said she chose the USC degree because of its flexibility and convenience.

“With two kids, running a small business and a part-time job, I wanted to complete my degree as quickly as possible, so I liked that USC had an 18-month program,” she said.

“I hadn’t studied for a long time, but at USC I had access to lots of support to help with referencing and writing assignments.

“The program was a mixture of face-to-face as well as online learning which helped a lot with work-life balance, and the Sippy Downs campus was a beautiful place to sit and study.”

Applications are now open via QTAC to study at USC next year, when the University will also open its new Moreton Bay campus with a state-of-the-art foundation building and almost 50 degrees.

For information on how to apply to USC, go to www.usc.edu.au/learn