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Shoalwater couple complete nursing degrees together

Jaime ShurmerWeekend Kwinana Courier

A MARRIED couple travelled from Shoalwater to Joondalup for several years to complete their respective nursing degrees at ECU.

The committed couple, Evan and Rezia Neal, were among more than 2000 students graduating from ECU this month.

The pair was living in Cairns when Mr Neal’s welding work started to wind down.

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“My wife Rezia was working as an enrolled nurse, so she inspired me to retrain as a carer in aged care and disability,” he said.

They made a snap decision to house sit in Perth for six months, but Mr Neal remained undeterred and enrolled for study within weeks of moving to Perth.

“The plan was for me to study while Rezia worked as an enrolled nurse |but after about 12 months she decided to join me at ECU to become a registered nurse,” he said.

But the decision to enter full-time study was far from easy for the family.

“The clinical placements were hard but they were made much easier by ECU’s clinical placement team who put us in different rotations and placements so someone was home for our son, Tajh,” Mrs Neal said.

She has a job in aged care and hopes to specialise in renal dialysis before becoming a nurse educator.

Mr Neal plans to build his experience in local aged care facilities before working in regional and remote Indigenous aged care.