The strong interest by prospective students in the availability of the paramedic course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie has been welcomed by University officials.

 

Associate Professor Lyn Angel, Head of the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences, said the Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) commenced at the University in the mid-1990s and is a well-established program which will be available at the new CSU campus in Port Macquarie from 2013.

 

“The paramedic course has enjoyed steady growth in student enrolments until the last couple of years when numbers significantly increased,” Professor Angel said. “For example, 200 first-year students accepted a place in the course at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst in 2012.

 

“The growth of interest and enrolments is due to a big shift nationally for paramedics to require a Bachelor qualification for employment, moving away from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) on-site training at ambulance stations which has been an alternative, very comprehensive employment pathway in the past.

 

“For Charles Sturt University to have the opportunity to offer the same fully-accredited program - one of the first and few accredited - from its new campus in Port Macquarie makes sense. It provides another contrasting geographic location to inland Bathurst for students interested in studying to be paramedics.

 

“We expect the course offerings in Port Macquarie will attract local, coastal students - school leavers as well as mature age students - who might wish to remain in their home area. It also offers an alternative for inland students who might be looking for a change but are not attracted to metropolitan areas to study.”

 

Professor Angel said the University looks forward to strengthening its relationship and partnerships with the Ambulance Service of NSW, specifically ambulance stations in the Mid-North and North Coast regions.

 

Mr Alan Morrison, Ambulance Manager Education, said the Ambulance Service of NSW was always looking for people committed to helping others in the most trusted profession.

 

“The opportunity to undertake studies in becoming a paramedic at Charles Sturt University’s new Port Macquarie campus is great news for Ambulance, not just on the Mid and North Coast of NSW but across the entire state,” Mr Morrison said.

 

“Expanding the high standard of education provided at CSU in Bathurst to Port Macquarie allows more people to undertake paramedic studies in their local area, negating the need to relocate during their degree to Sydney or Bathurst.

 

“Ambulance enjoys a close working relationship with the University in the development of paramedic graduates ensuring the community’s access to well-educated and skilled paramedic health professionals into the future,” he said.