Starting a career after university can feel overwhelming — especially in a sector as diverse and impactful as healthcare. That’s why the Ramsay Global Graduate Programme is designed to give graduates the chance to explore, grow, and discover where their passions truly lie.
In this blog, we speak to Hannah and Matthew, two graduates currently on the programme at Elysium Healthcare, about what attracted them to Elysium, how their experiences have shaped their career ambitions, and what they’ve learned from rotating across clinical environments, operational, and corporate teams.
From hands‑on exposure in our services to delivering presentations to global executive boards, they share an honest insight into the opportunities, challenges, and personal development that have defined their journey so far — and why they’d recommend the programme to future graduates looking for a supportive, meaningful start in healthcare.
Q: What attracted you to the graduate programme?
Hannah:
So I was fresh out of university and looking for a graduate programme within healthcare and then when I saw this programme come up with Ramsay and Elysium, I started the application process. 
I could pick between Ramsay or Elysium, at the time I ticked that I didn’t have a preference.
Then as the application process continued, I learned a lot more about Elysium so when I was then offered the role at Elysium, I was very happy to be able to go into a company that really believes in graduates and be within that healthcare sector, that my degree is in and where all my interest lies.
Prior to doing health and social care at university, I studied midwifery for two years. So, I’ve done quite a stint of clinical based placements. For a lot of reasons, it wasn’t for me. I then transferred my credits on to health and social care which made my healthcare knowledge a lot broader.
I’ve worked in the NHS as a GP receptionist role through my whole time at Uni so I felt like I very much understood the NHS and venturing into a different area of healthcare was really interesting to me. So that’s how I ended up here.
Matthew:
So I had a similar situation, I graduated from University in 2022 with a Sports and Exercise science 
degree. After that I started working in professional sport, which is somewhere that I always figured I would end up in some capacity.
I did that role for around 18 months, and I left my previous role to fulfil an ambition of travelling, after 6 months away I knew I wanted an opportunity of grow and develop. I wanted an opportunity to be able to grow and develop both professionally and personally but have a good career pathway.
My whole family work in the same hospital and so I’ve always been around a healthcare environment. I decided that I was interested in moving into some capacity of healthcare. I’d looked into a number of different roles and master’s qualifications and then one of my friends sent me through the link to this grad scheme.
I think the main attraction for me was the idea of support and development, both the professional side of it and the career trajectory as well. But the personal development as well and moulding you into a better leader.
Q:How did this programme differ from any other graduate programmes you were looking at?
Hannah:
I think the difference here was that there was the operational focus that we had in the first rotation where we could actually meet service users, meet staff on the ground and then our experience is very much shaped by the areas we’re interested in. So we’re both now in corporate teams, but we’ve actually already had the on ground experience, whereas other programmes I’d looked at were very much one or the other, whereas we’ve had that good bit of variety and our experience is very much led by us and what we want to do.
Q:Talk me through what you’ve done so far in the programme.
Matthew:
My first rotation was at The Spinney, and I was there for six months, from September until February. I absolutely loved it. I think that a lot of my initial starting blocks at The Spinney was around understanding operationally and clinically how the service ran. I spent time with all different departments in the hospital service.
From occupational therapists (OTs), Psychologists’, resources including all the ward staff. That really helped me because I gained a good understanding of how we run clinically and operationally . I got a real deep appreciation for what all the site staff do.
Sarah was my line manager at The Spinney, and she gave me plenty of autonomy to go and explore, to find things that I enjoy. I have a bit of a data background so we discussed how we could utilise that, we explored a lot around the power of AI and I got involved in a lot of site project both Hannah and I did the Qi mentorship training and that’s something that we took forward and we were really passionate about it and really enjoyed it.
I think initially being in that environment, coming from my background, it felt a bit difficult. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. But the staff at The Spinney were so supportive. I think what was fantastic was that they always listened, and this goes across the organisation as well. Even as a graduate, you still have input and a voice and a lot of the ideas that I put forward, I was able to test and try. I was given the time, space and resources to be able to do so.
I then moved on to a corporate function which was supporting Sandeep who’s the Head of Internal Audit and Risk. Before starting this rotation, I had no idea about Internal Audit or Risk Management, but Sandeep took the time to learn how I work and operate and helped me understand so much about internal audits and risks and whys they’re so important. I worked within several projects in this function.
It was so helpful for my own development, it’s not something that I would have experienced if I wasn’t on this graduate programme. I’m very grateful for that and the opportunities that I’ve had to expand my knowledge, understanding and take a bit more responsibility. I think the second rotation is where I have learnt the most and have a real sense of achievement. It was more task focused, there were more objectives and things to achieve. The first one was great for understanding and building a good foundational knowledge of healthcare and Elysium.
Hannah:
I started the programme last September, my first rotation was in Midlands and Yorkshire and that gave me exposure to a lot of different service types including Learning Disability and Autism (LD&A) services and mental health services.
I dove in at the deep end, not really understanding LD&A or rehab or mental health or all the terminology that we have to learn I look back now in that short space of time, there was so much going on, really getting an understanding of how things work from the ground up, to meeting staff at sites across the region.
As I was placed regionally, I was given a project around healthy living, and I started looking at what healthy living initiatives were taking place across the sites. Looking at what was already being done, what was working well, what maybe wasn’t working so well. At the end of the rotation, I presented to the Executive Board and Regional Clinical Governance on my findings and what I discovered across the region that was working well and gave some recommendations for how sites can learn from each other, how chefs can work together to implement healthier lifestyles for the service users. That taught me a lot about the issues around food in some of our services as well and how it’s not straightforward to cook a meal for all the different service users that we’ve got with all the different requirements.
There are complex needs and medical needs, it’s not only their mental health, but also their physical health. So that was really interesting and informative.
I then moved on into my next rotation, which is in Learning and Development (L&D). Having experience at the sites gave me the understanding of the staff and the service users and how things work. I could already see somethings in the development space that I could have an impact on.
So when Michelle approached me and asked me to come and be involved in some work in Learning and Development, I thought I can actually relate to things that I’ve already done in my first rotation and link that moving forwards.
I’ve been working on various projects. One of them being rolling out Oliver McGowan Mandatory training, setting up mental health first aid training and making sure that we’re meeting the requirements aligned with Ramsay Australia. So, there’s been a lot of communication there around things that are directly linked to L&D also working with digital systems and MEL (My Elysium Leaning) and trying to see how we can optimise MEL.
I did a big piece of work around evaluation and making sure that we’re capturing evaluation in the right way and that’s still not perfect, but it’s been really interesting to see it as a work in progress and find ways that we can capture evaluation across the company in a consistent way.
And then one of the biggest things I’ve worked on is the rollout of Managing within Elysium programme. This is the management programme for hospital directors and registered managers that all of them have attended. It’s been a really well thought out process run by David and Michelle and a few of us in the background, making sure it runs smoothly. The feedback from the Hospital Directors and Registered Managers has been really positive and that’s been running since June and I’ll be finishing my rotation in L&D at the end of this year just as the programme comes to an end. It’s been really good to be involved in that whole cycle and see the impact the programme had.
Is there anything that you have done in the programme that has changed your initial future plans?
Hannah:
I look back to when I was 18, I wanted to be clinical and got that clinical experience, but when I realised that wasn’t for me I asked myself what else am I interested in?
That is where this programme was perfect because it gave us so many opportunities to find out what we’re interested in. When I started L&D, one of the first things Michelle showed me was some budget reporting which was related to finance, even though I wasn’t working in finance at the time. It helped me understand how teams work together across the company
The programme teaches you by knowing what you don’t want, you find out what you do want, and you find the areas you’re passionate about. When I did the project around healthy living it made me start thinking about our staff and what are we doing for our staff. So then linking in with well-being and HR, I started to think maybe I quite like the People team space.
So then, as I moved into L&D and I’ve learnt so much more around training, learning and how we’re supporting our staff, which has taught me I’d love to work in the Support Centre function in the future at Elysium.
Matthew:
I don’t think there’s one singular event that’s made me realise what I enjoy doing. Michelle always says you don’t know what you don’t know. And Hannah’s hit the nail on the head with regards to; you find out quite quickly what you don’t enjoy. That’s not a negative but it helps to find out what you do enjoy. I’ve realised what I’m good at and that gives me purpose, this graduate programme has helped me with this.
What do you hope to achieve from the programme and what are your future plans?
Hannah:
In my interview, when they asked why a graduate programme, it was that continuous learning element. Coming out of university and going into a programme where I can continue learning about a business, about myself, about my skills and then learn new skills on top which we’ve done.
I’ve improved on my communication skills, admin, office working, meeting new people, using LinkedIn and putting yourself out there.
Its taught me a lot about myself and where I might want to work, I don’t know exactly what my dream job is, but I feel like I know the areas that I’m interested in now. So, I think in that sense, the programme has really helped me to define where I want my skills to be. I would love to move into a permanent position at Elysium.
I think the company’s got a fantastic culture and really good development post the programme. You see so many people in corporate functions and at site completing external qualifications and the company is big on supporting that. From what I know about this company is that they invest in people and what a better place to be.
Matthew:
I absolutely echo everything Hannah’s just said. I think my idea is to stay within the organisation and health care in general. I think what’s so good about Elysium is you can see the blueprint and you can see the progression and development. I feel like I can see where I’d slot in.
I mainly wanted development from this programme and to be a more well-rounded professional and person. The programme has already given me that. And we are still developing; I’ve got the passion to be able to do that and I’m in a position where we are being helped to develop. Theres still positions to challenge me and push me forward; I’m really liking that.
Like Hannah said, the softer skills have been developed tenfold.
When I walked into the Spinney on the first day, it was a bit like a deer in headlights.
But I quickly came to enjoy that environment. It brings the best out of people, it was a nice environment to be in where everyone is striving for a common goal.
It is very different to what I did at university, I’ve realised I really enjoy project management and making a difference to people’s lives and that’s why I would like to stay at Elysium and in healthcare. After this programme if there are any qualifications to further go down the project management route, that’s my plan.
Q:What has been your favourite part of the programme so far?
Matthew:
I’d say it’s the development sessions we have had with external Organisations Maxme and Fusion, alongside our rotations. I think for me, as someone who came into this organisation, quite naive and a bit standoffish with the idea of personal development and then being supported by the team and having all these opportunities has been my favourite part. I look forward to the sessions every week and that subsequently has made a massive difference to my life in the organisation and outside of that as well.
Hannah and Matthew:
We had the opportunity to do a presentation to the Ramsay and Elysium boards. For a little bit of context, we were given six weeks and a question of how we can use AI to improve the working life of nurses. There was Hannah and I, the two Ramsay graduates UK and then the two Australian graduates. We were brought together to work on this project and present to the global executives in Windsor in May of 2025.
It was quite a tight turn around. There was only six weeks and there was a lot of complications leading up to that. I was away for two weeks; we had an annual leave and on top of that we’ve got two people and the project team who live on the other side of world. So, there were a few challenges to overcome.
We put together a presentation, and it was at the Ramsay and Elysium Better Together Conference so included several members of the global board.
Hannah:
We all came together on the Sunday night at 10:00 PM. We had never met each other before. My train was delayed so I got there really late. They’d all done a run through and I hadn’t. And they were asking me “do you know what you’re saying?” I said, “I’ll figure it out!” It was nerve racking!
Matthew:
I was there at 11 O’clock that Sunday night trying to go over it again and again. But I remember we were outside and I’m thinking I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but the second we walked in, it just felt natural, felt normal, felt easy because we’ve had the experience in presenting to the people committee before. So having those interactions with the board already, having the transparency and openness made this experience nice. They made us feel so comfortable. We knew what we were talking about, we believed in it and we supported each other really well. It’s a very memorable experience.
Hannah:
I agree it was a really good experience to come together as a graduate cohort, overcome them challenges and to meet with the Australian Graduates in person because it was a different time over there so there were a lot of early mornings.
We came together to put all this presentation together in such a short space of time, trying to do our research, trying to speak to people about the impact of AI and learning about AI and all the other ways that we could use it and then we had to come up with a proposal with how it was going to be used across all three businesses.
We all came into that with all different levels of knowledge. It was interesting to learn how UK hospitals differ to Australian Hospitals.
We got such amazing feedback and then that was Monday done and the rest of the week we had fun, we attended some other conferences, went for lunches, we went for formal dinners. It was all about collaborating and getting to know each other. The impact that week had on our networking was fantastic and we learnt so much about the global business. It was a brilliant opportunity!
Would you recommend the programme to future graduates?
Matthew:
Absolutely! It just goes full circle into what I’ve said about the opportunities that you are given and the development and the transparency. I’ve not had much exposure to any other graduate programmes but the reason that I would recommend this one is because I just feel like the level of support you get is just unbelievable.
People have time for you. In our first couple of months, I think we must have met 30 different people who are all willing to take 20-30 minutes out of their day to just speak to us, give us a little bit of insight into what they do, about their department, and answer any questions that we had.
Ultimately, that’s the reason I would recommend it because you get such a massive foundational knowledge of everything and the support you receive is unbelievable. It’s brilliant.
Hannah:
I think I’d say the same. It’s a brilliant programme, the amazing opportunities for personal development, networking, building confidence in so many different areas and gaining that round knowledge of the whole business, the programme is doing what it’s designed to do. It’s setting us up to be in the best position to move into a job role at the end of the programme. I think it’s very tailored to the areas that we’re interested in. There’s a lot of support to move in the directions we are passionate in.
You can reach out to anybody and ask for help. And if they don’t know, they’ll know someone that does. I think it’s such a perfect setting to complete a programme like this in such a supportive organisation. It’s provided some amazing experiences, and I know that there’ll be more to come in the next 10 months.
I would recommend to anyone coming out of university who wants that continued learning and mentorship in a well-structured programme.
If you’re ready to grow, to challenge yourself, and to bring compassion into every step of your career, this is your opportunity to thrive with us as a corporate graduate in our corporate services.
There are schemes available across Elysium Healthcare, Ramsay UK and Ramsay Australia. When you register, you’ll be able to select your preference—and the programme begins next September.
Register your interest today and take the first step toward a career with impact.