Our Stories

Chicku Gheevarghese

Interventional Suites Clinical Manager
Calvary Adelaide Hospital

In 2011, junior nurse Chicku Gheevarghese attended his first work Christmas party at Calvary Adelaide and literally brought a plate, as requested. “I went to Kmart and turned up with an empty plate. I didn’t understand that in Australia that meant to bring food to share,” he laughed as he retold one of his earliest memories.

Today, he is the Clinical Nurse Manager of the angio intervention suite managing 65 nurses, and can’t imagine working anywhere else.

   I remember my first week of orientation at Calvary Adelaide. Everything was new. A new place, new people, and a new culture. I realised how significant this moment was in my life. However, the great thing about Calvary Adelaide is that it feels like being part of a family.” Chicku said.

I was happy being a registered nurse for the rest of my life, but I’ve had a great manager who recognised my skills and identified a pathway for me and supported my studies so I could have more opportunities.”

Chicku said life as a nurse in India was very different, working in intensive care in a hospital where he would be rostered on the night shift for 15 days in a row. This had had a huge impact on his own health and wellbeing.

The decision to move to Adelaide came after some friends suggested trying something new. After completing his three-month registration course to practice nursing in Australia and passing an English proficiency test, he followed his passion for intensive care and cardiac nursing, applying to Calvary Adelaide.

   When I first started at Calvary I was working in a 37-bed cardiac unit, and now I’m managing a unit that covers cardiac, neuro, and vascular interventional treatment for people needing stents, angiograms, and stroke care,” he said.

Chicku is well settled in Australia, having met his wife in Adelaide and now a parent of two children.

   Calvary is the institution I thank for giving me opportunities, supporting my study and shaping me into the person I am today, while enabling me to be a nurse who makes a positive change in people’s lives every day,” he said.

I was happy being a registered nurse for the rest of my life, but I’ve had a great manager who recognised my skills and identified a pathway for me and supported my studies so I could have more opportunities.