The Cervetto family of Ipswich will have twice as many reasons to celebrate today when identical twins Alyce and Emma graduate from The University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Nursing and Midwifery on their birthday.
Not only will the twins each receive a Bachelor of Nursing on their 20th birthday, they have both been accepted into a twelve-month graduate program at the Ipswich Hospital starting in February.
Head of The UQ School of Nursing and Midwifery Professor Catherine Turner said it was a rare to find twins studying in the same field.
“We would like to congratulate Emma and Alyce on being the first set of twins to graduate in the same year from the School of Nursing and Midwifery,” Prof Turner said.
Emma said they were both motivated to study health due to their interest in biology and physical education at school.
“We both knew we wanted a career in health and we chose to study nursing because of the greater job prospects,” Emma said.
“Having worked together through school, we understood each others’ learning styles and were able to help each other out by sharing notes and comparing our shifts.
“Being the only two in our family in the health field and working shifts, it’s been good to have someone to relate to.”
Earlier this year, Emma and Alyce completed a four-week clinical placement at the New Hope Community Centre in Cambodia.
“It was the first time we had travelled outside of Australia, and it really opened my eyes to different health care systems and cultural differences,” Alyce said.
Both Emma and Alyce are currently working at Ipswich Hospital where they will commence the Queensland Health graduate program in February 2011.
The twins are among 165 students to graduate from UQ’s School of Nursing and Midwifery in 2010.
More information about the UQ School of Nursing and Midwifery can be found at www.nursing-midwifery.uq.edu.au.
Media: Lya McTaggart (07 3365 5084), Sophie Baker (07 3381 1068) or Kirsten Rogan (07 3346 4667).
