April 20, 2018

Nursing degree enables identical twins to help other people

McKinnon twins celebrate dual graduations, relished experience of studying together

Marianne and Kathleen McKinnon have always had similar interests. 

So when they were weighing up their options after high school, it was natural that they would both end up studying nursing, and both end up at the University of Wollongong.

Today, the identical twins celebrated their joint graduations from the School of Nursing, and reflected on their time at university.

“We both wanted to help other people, so nursing made a lot of sense to us,” Kathleen said. “Our brother had leukaemia when were growing up, so that really opened our eyes to role nurses play in people’s lives.”

“I love the sciences, but I wanted something that was hands on, and nursing gave me both those elements,” Marianne added.

Initially, the twins were in separate classes – budding nurses go through their classes in a small cohort - so their peers were not aware that there were, essentially, two of them.

“Because we were in different classes, no one suspected a thing,” Kathleen laughed. “But after a few years, everyone started to realise and they thought it was really funny.”

Studying the same subjects at the same time was advantageous for Kathleen and Marianne because they were able to delve into the material together.

“We could debrief, bounce ideas off each other, share notes. If there was something that I didn’t understand, Kathleen would talk me through it, and vice versa,” Marianne said. “We loved studying together, it was such a great experience.”

They have always had similar interests, and said they are both really creative, and love art and photography.

Now, with their university studies over, they have moved to Sydney, where they live together and have both landed roles in graduate programs – this time at different hospitals. Marianne is based at RPA, in the gastrointestinal surgical ward, while Kathleen is in acute geriatrics at Concord Hospital.

Marianne would love to end up in the intensive care unit, while Kathleen is aiming to eventually work in a burns unit, so they are both on the right path.

The twins are also identical in their praise for their time at UOW and the incredible skills and knowledge they were taught at the School of Nursing.

“UOW has been so amazing, because it has taught us to be independent and driven, and it has focused on teaching us the practical skills as well as the theory,” Marianne said.

“You don’t get that sort of training everywhere,” Kathleen agreed. “And even though the studies were hard at the time, having that hands-on practice has been invaluable in training us for the real world of nursing.”