Taking a tree change!

September 21, 2023

Pictured: Left: Registered Nurse (RN) Sushmita Bista. Right: The surrounds of our home in Parkes, NSW

She’s travelled almost 10,000km, but Registered Nurse (RN) Sushmita Bista finally feels like she’s home.

Arriving in Australia from Nepal in 2018, she joined our Kildare Residential Care home at Maroubra as a Carer, and while she embraced the hustle and bustle of the city, she yearned for the peace and tranquillity offered by her native homeland.

After completing her RN training, Sushmita decided to take a tree change and leave behind the city’s conveniences for the serenity of rural living.

She’s travelled almost 10,000km, but Registered Nurse (RN) Sushmita Bista finally feels like she’s home.

Arriving in Australia from Nepal in 2018, she joined our Kildare Residential Care home at Maroubra as a Carer, and while she embraced the hustle and bustle of the city, she yearned for the peace and tranquillity offered by her native homeland.

After completing her RN training, Sushmita decided to take a tree change and leave behind the city’s conveniences for the serenity of rural living.

She applied for a role in Young, around four hours’ drive from Sydney, and her only regret is that she didn’t do it sooner.

Moving to the country provided her with a more relaxed lifestyle, lower living costs, cheaper housing and as importantly a greater sense of purpose.

Sushmita now regards her decision to relocate to rural NSW through Southern Cross Care as “the best of her life”.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am living in such a beautiful community like Young,” she said.

“The people are so friendly and there is such a strong sense of community.

“Even when I first moved here, strangers would stop me in the street and ask if I needed anything, you don’t get that in the city because everybody is so busy.

“When I lived in the city, I didn’t even know my neighbours, now I feel like everybody is a friend.

“Young offers an exciting yet relaxed way of life and I really don’t see me ever leaving.”

Southern Cross Care is enabling staff to maximise their clinical skills while making a real difference to the lives of older people in regional areas.

We understand the vital role aged care nurses play in delivering great care and offer a supportive environment with a strong reputation for clinical excellence.

For Sushmita, moving to regional NSW has given her not only a career but a way of life.

“Relocating has given me so many opportunities I would never have been given in the city, I am now the Clinical Care Coordinator and am saving to buy a house,” she beamed.

“I put my trust in Southern Cross Care and can’t thank them enough.

“I always knew I wanted to care for the elderly but didn’t know where to start, and from the moment I contacted them I knew I was joining an organisation who values not only its residents but it’s staff.

“I can honestly say, I don’t know where I’d be without them, they have helped me to not only become a RN but also live in a community that makes me so happy.

“For anybody thinking about a tree change, just do it, it will be one of the best decisions you could make.

“Even though I am so far from Nepal I really do feel like I’m home.”

If this sounds like you or someone you know, get in touch with our recruitment team on 1800 632 314.