Seeing double: Meet the identical twin nurses of Westmead Hospital

Tiffany and Victoria Aoun are 23-year-old twins who have been working at Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) since June last year.

The identical twin nurses joined the district as part of the GradStart program, and both currently work at Westmead Hospital; Tiffany in the radiology department and Victoria in the vascular ward.

Working in these different wards is the furthest apart that they have been, as they share the same friends, studied together and live together – even though they both work at the same facility.

“We were in the same school and university classes, so this is a bit of an adjustment period,” Victoria said.

Victoria and Tiffany are currently on the second rotation of their program, and are both passionate about pursuing careers in the health sector.

The sisters decided to pursue a nursing career after high school as they both have a passion for helping people.

Wherever the twins go, confusion follows as they encounter each other’s patients and colleagues and are confused for one-another at least two to three times a day.

“We’re so used to it and it makes us smile,” Victoria said.

Sometimes Tiff’s patients will come up to me and give me a hug and say, “thank you so much for all your help”!”

Tiffany often encounters the same confusion from patients, especially when running into families and colleagues in the corridor.

“I have random nurses and porters waving at me, as well as patients and their families,” she said.

“They always have the same reaction when they find out I’m a twin and that she works here too – they’re shocked and then they laugh.”

For Tiffany and Victoria, their passion and dedication to their patients is clear by the way they both speak about coming to work at Westmead Hospital and how they both describe their careers so far as the most gratifying, rewarding jobs they could ever imagine.

“My first placement was in the geriatrics ward, which I absolutely loved,” said Tiffany.

I love taking care of elderly people and treating them like they’re my own family. They are so grateful, and the smallest things make a world of difference to them.

“I just love my time at the hospital.”