General News
11 September, 2025
Grampians Health staff win prestigious scholarships
Two Grampians Health employees training to become nurses have won highly coveted scholarships from the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Horsham enrolled nurse Tammy McDonald and Ballarat program assistant Chloe James both won the scholarships to support their nursing studies.
Adding to their achievement is the fact that only four scholarships were awarded to nurse trainees in Victoria for 2025.
The RFDS Give Them Wings scholarships offer one-off financial assistance and provide students with the opportunity to spend a week with the Flying Doctor or take a work experience trip by air.
The scholarship program encourages students to seek employment in regional or rural areas upon graduation, utilising their vital skills in communities that need them the most.
An enrolled nurse at Grampians Health's Horsham campus, Ms McDonald has already gained success in her role, having been recently awarded Federation University TAFE's Trainee of the Year and followed that up with the ANMF Student of the Year.
Ms McDonald is currently studying for her Bachelor of Nursing and has already achieved distinctions during her studies.
Before she married and started a family, Ms McDonald had ambitions of becoming a midwife, but the exclusiveness of midwifery was not available to her in Horsham at the time.
Ms McDonald said she intends to continue to work in Horsham.
"I'm really enjoying nursing, and when I finish my Graduate Year, I want to further my studies to either work in theatre as a peri-operative nurse or to qualify as a midwife," she said.
"My daughter is an Aboriginal Health Liaison Officer with Grampians Health Horsham.
"The team there is working on a program to increase the ante-natal care for First Nations mothers and to encourage them to seek out appointments with midwives.
"My children are First Nations people, and I would love to use my accepted position in that community to work directly with those mothers as their personal midwife.
"As much as I like the idea of midwifery, I also love working in theatre and they are both level-pegging as my choices to this point."
Ms McDonald and Ms James were among 160 applicants to apply for the scholarships in the 14th year of the Give Them Wings program.
Of the 10 scholarships awarded, four were for Bachelor of Nursing studies, five are studying medicine, and one is studying a Bachelor of Paramedicine.
Grampians Health Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Leanne Shea congratulated both of the students on their scholarships.
"It is truly remarkable to have two of our team members securing half of the available scholarships for their nursing studies," Ms Shea said.
"We are incredibly proud of both Tammy and Chloe for their achievements; this support enables them to fulfil their career aspirations and to channel their passion into future initiatives in nursing and Midwifery here at Grampians Health."