Sifa Lwesso, Tran Thai and Alessandra Cascioli are nurses at McMaster Children’s Hospital. They first worked there as nursing students in the Hamilton Health Sciences extern program.
There are careers, and then there are callings. After graduating with nursing degrees earlier this year, Alessandra Cascioli, Sifa Lwesso and Tran Thai joined the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) team as registered nurses.
Sifa Lwesso, Tran Thai and Alessandra Cascioli are nurses at McMaster Children’s Hospital. They first worked there as nursing students in the Hamilton Health Sciences extern program.
There are careers, and then there are callings. After graduating with nursing degrees earlier this year, Alessandra Cascioli, Sifa Lwesso and Tran Thai joined the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) team as registered nurses.
All three took part in the clinical extern program at HHS McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) while finishing school, gaining valuable work experience before launching their careers.
Senior university and college students in nursing, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, physiotherapy and paramedic programs can apply to work at HHS hospital sites as clinical externs while in school, working at least one shift per week while also building their skill sets, knowledge and connections.
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Externs make significant contributions by helping with tasks they’re allowed to perform as unregulated care providers. Staff welcome the extra hands on deck, and students gain work experience at HHS, recognized for the second year in a row as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.
Childhood experiences inspire nursing careers
Cascioli was inspired to become a nurse by her younger brother Joseph, who was born with Down syndrome. As a teen, Cascioli accompanied Joseph to medical appointments at MCH. “I know from those visits how special it is to be so involved in the care of a child. That’s why I want to practise nursing.”
Sifa Lwesso knew from first-hand experience what it’s like to be an MCH patient. “I had leg surgeries at MCH when I was very young because I fractured my femur,” she says. “I remember how amazing the nurses were.”
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Tran Thai studied nursing after completing a bachelor of science degree. “As an undergraduate I found myself loving health care but not knowing what career path to take,” says Thai. “I loved the opportunities that I had to work with patients, which is why I thought nursing would be a great fit.”
