Nurse training underway on Alice campus

Eleven Nursing students are fine-tuning their hands-on skills at this year’s first clinical simulation block at Alice Springs campus this week.

Senior Nursing Lecturer Robin Cross said that most of the third-year undergraduates would go on to clinical placements in Central Australia at the hospital, Flying Doctors, Old Timers or Purple House.

“The simulation block places an emphasis on practical skills,” Ms Cross said. “Activities are designed to consolidate knowledge and reinforce a broad range of clinical skills to ensure our students are equipped with the technical and practical know-how to succeed in the real world.

“Many of the activities will involve our simulated patients (manikins) who are programmed to reflect a broad range of human conditions. Students will be assessed on how they respond when one of the manikins goes into cardiac arrest. Another will experience a severe asthma attack.

“We will also ensure they are well versed in how to identify and manage a deteriorating patient.”

Ms Cross said a further 16 students had enrolled in the second simulation block next week.

“We’ll be hosting four nursing sim blocks and a midwifery sim block each semester this year, catering to more than 120 students.”

Meanwhile about 180 high school students are on campus this week for this year’s first VET for Schools training block for senior secondary students.

Senior VET adviser Lyle Mellors said that the four week-long training blocks scheduled for 2019 (two per semester) would give students a head start to their careers.

“We combine practical and theory-based learning that puts senior secondary students on a pathway to a career that they otherwise wouldn’t start until they were adult learners,” Mr Mellors said.

“This year we are offering full certificate programs in 14 disciplines in business, hospitality, hairdressing, music, media, hairdressing, the traditional trades and more.”

Mr Mellors said Plumbing was being offered through the VSS program for the first time.

“We welcome Plumbing Lecturer Lachlan Marr, who has visited us from Darwin in the past, but who now is a full-time locally employed trainer at CDU.

“He will run classes from the fully equipped Trades Training Centre, which was custom designed to educate and skill the plumbers of tomorrow,” Mr Mellors said.