WHEN Lucy Newman was fighting for her life against leukaemia, it was nurses who gave her the strength, comfort and care that carried her through the darkest days.
Now, the 21-year-old Springfield Lakes local is giving back – graduating as part of the largest-ever nursing cohort from Mater Education and stepping straight into her first role as an Enrolled Nurse at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane.
Lucy is one of a record 173 students who graduated from Mater Education’s Diploma of Nursing program on January 22 – a milestone moment for Queensland’s health workforce.
“I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when I was nine,” Lucy said.
“I had been fatigued and in pain for about six months, but after going back and forth to doctors, we still didn’t have any answers.”
It wasn’t until Lucy collapsed at home that everything changed.
“I was taken to hospital and the test results finally came back,” she said.
“It was cancer.”
Lucy endured three years of treatment before going into remission following a bone marrow transplant – an experience that shaped her future.
“My illness is what got me into nursing,” she said. “I loved the way the nurses cared for me and I wanted to give back to the community in the same way.”
Her studies were completed fee-free over 18 months through the Queensland Government’s Free Nursing initiative, which is helping address a growing workforce shortage.
The Queensland Government is providing 2000 free Diploma of Nursing places this year, with an estimated 21,300 new nurses needed by 2032 to meet health workforce demand.
In 2026 alone, around 940 trainee nurses will study with Mater Education across Brisbane, Springfield and Townsville.
Lucy said the support she received during her training was critical – especially given her personal history.
One of the most powerful moments of Lucy’s training came during her placement on the oncology ward at Mater Hospital Brisbane.
“It was a little confronting, given my background,” she said. “But somehow, my personal experience as a chemotherapy patient always came out to the patients in my care.
“It put them more at ease and allowed me to connect with them more deeply.
“It was incredibly rewarding.”
