Residents in the Dubbo region will benefit for years to come from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Inland Health Strategy announced this week, which will create a health specialities centre at its Dubbo Campus. Professor Elaine Duffy, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, in the Faculty of Science, said the strategy details the University’s commitment to improving health education and outcomes in the area.
“We’re serious about educating inland and regional health professionals and creating networks to encourage more to practice in inland Australia. This strategy and the subsequent health education plans we’ll be rolling out detail how it will be done. It will unify the University’s activities across our inland regions,” Professor Duffy said.
The innovative Inland Health Strategy – Central Western Health Education Plan is the first in a series of plans that Charles Sturt University will unveil over the coming months. Plans for the Riverina-Murray and Rural and Remote Communities will be launched shortly.
Specific to Dubbo, the Central Western Health Education Plan focuses on creating a distinct inter-professional health science centre covering nursing, dental and oral health, human services and Indigenous health.
Head of Dubbo Campus, Gary Shipp, said the Inland Health Strategy has local significance and many benefits as it sets down how and why CSU’s Dubbo Campus will be a centre for these specialities.
“We hope to increase that spread of specialities to Indigenous health, too. We will know when the Federal Budget is announced next month if the University’s $12 million bid to set up the Inland University Department of Rural Health is successful,” he said.
The University’s Dental Clinic at Dubbo Campus is a unique joint initiative with the Greater Western Area Health Service and the University of Sydney. It sees the partners share facilities and specialist clinicians, encourage collaborative learning across universities, and significantly boost public dental services in a region experiencing critical shortages.
The Central Western Health Education Plan will also allow the University to conduct more cutting-edge research and develop targeted action plans to promote healthy inland communities and lifestyles. This will mean more students, staff and facilities at Dubbo Campus in the future.
“Key to our mission is access to higher education and with our nursing programs, for example, we deliver the same curriculum as we do at our Orange and Bathurst campuses. Charles Sturt University’s mission has always been to meet the needs and aspirations of our inland communities. Our commitment is long-term, and we are therefore planning long-term,” Professor Duffy said.
“The proof of our success, as they say, is in the pudding. Around 70 to 80 percent of our nursing graduates from Dubbo stay in Dubbo and the surrounding areas. Our Inland Health Strategy is about building on this success and extending opportunities more broadly across inland communities.
Social
Explore the world of social