Bouldercome neighbours Sheralee Kirkwood and Janita Farrell both have healthy study and career prospects as nurses, having encouraged each other over the side fence.

While the future looks bright, the pair met years earlier following darker and more foreboding circumstances. Sheralee was in hospital recovering from a life-threatening spine infection,  which had caused her lungs to collapse and warranted a long induced coma.

Janita (left) and Sheralee compare notes

Twenty years ago, Sheralee was a teenage mum and as such education had not featured on her list of priorities until recently when she started looking for careers outside of office administration.

"I initially didn't have any idea on how to get an education and career. I just had no clue," she said.

One bright spot was when Sheralee gained her TAFE Certificate 3 to gain an entry-level job in aged care nursing and started to think about progressing in the industry.

The chance meeting with Janita in hospital developed into a firm friendship when the pair became neighbours and found they were both keen horse riders.

Meanwhile, Janita spent many years as an enrolled nurse (later endorsed) but in recent years became frustrated that she could not use her experience to warrant a wider range of tasks on the ward and additional cash in her pay package. She needed more technical theory and university credentials to progress to Registered Nurse level.

"When we became endorsed we began to learn a lot more but because of our scope of practice you can't grow into your job so I had many thoughts about doing a degree. I did not come from an academic background - Dad's a horse breaker and shearer - but Sheralee really encouraged me."

So it was in 2009 that both Sheralee and Janita decided to bite the bullet and follow their dreams by enrolling for further study.

Janita took on the first year of a Bachelor of Nursing degree, while Sheralee enrolled for the preparatory program called WIST (Women Into Science and Technology). Both found their initial academic achievements have created greater confidence for long-term success.

Dipping toes into water has also paid off in terms of significant scholarship support, with Royal College of Nursing Australia 'rural/remote' assistance meaning their study costs are covered for the duration of their degree study. Both are continuing study on campus in 2010 on a part-time basis, and their scholarship has the flexibility to extend support over the longer period.

LINK here for details on RCNA scholarships