faculty focus
Assign for the times
The world’ s healthcare needs change pretty quickly. Nursing school curriculums must help their students keep up. By Dallas Bastian
Preparing current and future nursing professionals for work in a rapidly changing sector means paying attention to shifting industry needs whilst updating a curriculum constantly. Here’ s the word from deans and heads of nursing schools around Australia on their points of emphasis for the year ahead.
Community and home-based care The University of Sydney is launching a master of primary healthcare degree this year, in recognition of the idea that the future of healthcare is home and community based.
“ It’ s quite a different mindset for a nurse to be working in the community,” says Jill White, dean of the Sydney Nursing School.“ The permission to enter someone else’ s home and world is so different to [ working ] in an acute-care facility.”
White says the set up, equipment and environment for home care are all different from work in care facilities.
Professor Maxine Duke, head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University, says home care is the way of the future.“ Making sure we have nurses with specialist knowledge and skill who can operate at an advanced level at home and in the community is going to be more and more important as we shift care more to the community in the future,” Duke says.
Duke says Australia’ s healthcare system cannot cope with the demand on hospital services and individuals and that chronic illnesses are already being treated at home, a move that is set to increase in the future.
Chronic disease management, aged care, health promotion and disease prevention are all part of community care’ s focus.
Mental health A personalised approach to mental health is being employed at Central Queensland University.
Dean of CQUni’ s School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr Leone Hinton, says the university is focusing on the recovery process in teaching mental healthcare, which involves establishing what strengths a patient has to help overcome illnesses.
Mental health nursing has declined in popularity, whilst depression has become a major health issue in Australia and internationally. This is creating demand.
30 | campusreview. com. au