Wollongong University Bega campus engages high school students with hospital-like training space

"If you're going to go out in real life, it's nice to see it on a dummy first," third-year nursing student Mirri Dalziel said with a smile, as she stood within the state-of-the-art clinical skill and simulation lab.

Students from Bega High, Bombala High, Lumen Christi Catholic College, Sapphire Coast Anglican College, and Eden Marine High, attended the Bega Valley campus on Thursday, August 24, to experience hands-on training - from basic life support with chest compressions and a defibrillator, to injecting saline solutions into false forearms with pre-installed intravenous cannulas.

Bega High School's Bella Beere, 16, said she had an urge to help people and help women out, and hoped to pursue a career in midwifery.

Fellow student Charlee Wegert would like to follow in her father's footsteps by working at Katungul Aboriginal Corporation Regional Health and Community Services.

And Lumen Christi's Joanna Pascoe had a long term goal to enter paediatrics.

"Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to work in the medical field because lots of my family members are doctors, my dad's a doctor, I think I have always grown up with medicine, so that's what inspired me," Joanna said.

The manager of UOW Bega Valley campus, Sam Avitaia, said the practical side offered at the training facility allowed students to feel confident when they go on placement, having already practiced some of the skills using the dummy, which she described as a "programmable person".

"Students go into the sim lab once a week, and they have a scenario at each of the beds, and then they'll go up, see what's happening for that patient, and be required to respond appropriately," Ms Avitaia said.

"Get the right medications, start doing dosages, there's wound dressing, whatever's on that particular week that they're learning in their theory.

"They are practicing that on each other and on the dummies that talk, and they have fully qualified nurses from the region in the room with them."

Describing herself like a mother hen, clucking around and seeing her ex-students running the place at Bega hospital, critical care nurse and subject coordinator Helen Pratt was delighted to see what previous students had achieved.

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"We're really proud that a lot of students stay and become registered nurses and work locally and support our community, by caring from them, after they finish their Bachelor of Nursing," Ms Pratt said.

"They are putting theory into practice."

Paul Goodwin, senior project officer for Regional Industry Education Partnerships said the day was to collaborate with UOW to provide students with a direct line with health care experts, training leaders, and future career opportunities.

"The beauty of this is they're talking directly to health professionals about what their career journey's been, a day in the life of their role involves, what their study and tertiary education has been," Mr Goodwin said.

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