Archive

National challenge for CSU paramedicine students

Paramedicine students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will test their skills in medical and trauma scenarios at a national competition in Melbourne this month.

Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) students Ms Elizabeth Phillips and Mr James Collins have been selected to represent CSU at the Australian and New Zealand College of Paramedicine (ANZCP) University Challenge on Friday 19 August.

The third-year students from CSU in Bathurst have been spending several hours per week practising for the undisclosed simulation challenge, involving manikins in two scenarios, an oral presentation on a professional topic, and a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation challenge.

They'll compete against students from nine other Australian institutions for the title of ANZCP University Challenge Champions.

Associate lecturer in pre-hospital care, Ms Amanda Hlushak, who will accompany the students to Melbourne, said, "This is the first time Charles Sturt University students have participated in this Challenge.

"It is a chance to showcase the students' skills and knowledge attained during the last three years, in a competition again the other universities.   

"Over the past few weeks, I've been working with them to enhance their scenario management through leadership and communication."

CSU offers the Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) through its School of Biomedical Sciences at Bathurst and Port Macquarie, as well as through CSU online.

The ANZCP is a peak professional body representing paramedics in Australia and New Zealand.


‘Yarn Up’ to talk about local health services

It's being called a 'Yarn Up' by a team of Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate students seeking the views of the Narrandera Aboriginal community on local health services.

As part of their studies, three Master of Health Services Management students have organised the Narrandera Community Yarn Up from 6.30pm on Wednesday 10 August in the local Ex-Serviceman's Club.

The students are working as a consultancy team for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD).

Student Ms Anna Feiss said "The Yarn Up is an opportunity for the Narrandera Aboriginal community to tell us their personal stories about health care and services in the area.

"It is a chance for community members to raise any ideas they may have to improve services."

The Yarn Up is open to members of the Narrandera community with particular emphasis on Aboriginal people as well as local community service providers.  

Lecturer in Health Services Management Dr David Ritchie said, "This is the third successive year health services management students have undertaken consultancy work for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District and the second year it has focused on Indigenous health.

"Indigenous health was chosen as a long standing and complex area of health disadvantage, and the Charles Sturt University students should be better prepared than most to make a difference in Closing the Gap.

"The Yarn Up is being organised online as the students work full-time while studying with Charles Sturt University part-time.

He said, "This is a year-long commitment by students to one project. What is also significant is that the project will be ongoing, with a further team of students expected to continue in 2017."

The stories from the Yarn Up will be used in the students' final report to MLHD.

Ms Feiss said, "The 'Flipping the Focus' report will highlight positives changes which the health authority can make to improve Aboriginal health in the local area.

"As a team, we believe this project can have a positive impact on the lives of the Narrandera Aboriginal community."

For further information about the Narrandera Community Yarn Up, please contact Ms Feiss on 0438 441 262 or anna.macca@yahoo.com.au

Indigenous students to gain leadership tips at CSU

Indigenous school students in Bathurst will attend a special leadership event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst as part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day on Thursday 4 August.

Approximately 42 Indigenous students from every school in Bathurst will attend the leadership day organised by the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) at the Wammarra Indigenous Student Centre (ground floor, building 1292) at CSU in Bathurst.

Co-convenor of the event and lecturer with the CSU Centre for Law and Justice Ms Annette Gainsford (pictured) said, "This is an example of Charles Sturt University's commitment to and involvement in advancing Indigenous education in regional Australia. Elders, junior AECG members and their parents, teachers and University staff will attend the event."

The day will start at 11am with a Welcome to Country and Yarning Circle with Elders. Discussions about Aboriginal cultural leadership with the Bathurst Wiradyuri will follow, then a barbeque lunch at Wammarra with informal yarning with Elders, junior AECG members, parents of the junior AECG members, teachers and CSU staff.

Bedlam project and exhibition revisits Beechworth’s history

A unique project and exhibition that explores the history and impact of a former mental asylum in Beechworth, in north-east Victoria, has opened at the Albury City LibraryMuseum.

Dr Jennifer Munday (pictured), senior lecturer and researcher in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Education in Albury-Wodonga and one of the curators, said the project titled Bedlam: living with a mental asylum in town has collected narrative data and artefacts for several years which now feature in the exhibition Up Top: A Sense of Place for Mayday Hills Hospital.

"Bedlam is an applied theatre, history and arts project that helps audiences and participants reflect on the multiple perspectives that co-exist around a significant site within community," Dr Munday said.

"Mayday Hills Hospital, the former Beechworth mental asylum, referred to as 'Up Top' by locals, has been an iconic presence in the North East Victorian community for more than 140 years," she said.

"Since the mental asylum opened there in 1867 approximately 9 000 people lived and died there during its 128-year history.

"One of the central aims of the Bedlam project is to investigate senses of place, along with the living memories of those who have in some way experienced the site.

"The re-organisation of Mayday Hills throughout its history, and its subsequent closure as a mental asylum, meant changes in the way the community, health services, and patients lived their lives.

"This project aimed to activate the voices of those touched by their experiences of Mayday Hills, and to provoke a community dialogue about both the history of Mayday Hills and its ongoing presence in the community."

Dr Munday said, "One way of achieving this objective is the inclusion of a Story Booth in the LibraryMuseum exhibition where visitors can record their memories of visiting, working or having connections to Mayday Hills."

Up Top: A Sense of Place for Mayday Hills Hospital was officially opened at 2pm Saturday 23 July by Professor Bruce Pennay, and will be exhibited until Sunday 25 September and throughout the Write Around the Murray Festival. Find out more about the project here.

Nursing students deliver glasses gift to Thailand

Reading glasses and sunglasses donated to Charles Sturt University (CSU) have found new homes in remote villages in northern Thailand.

They were hand delivered by nine Bachelor of Nursing students and their CSU lecturer Ms Cathy Maginnis while they were on an international work placement for their course focused on primary healthcare, health education and health assessments.

The final year students from CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, and Wagga Wagga arrived in northern Thai city of Chiang Mai for a quick acclimatisation to the new culture including the hustle and bustle of the night markets and endless traffic stream of motor bikes, push bikes and tuk tuks.

They went on a walking tour and visited local temples to learn about the Thai culture and customs.

The CSU group then travelled for four hours by mini-vans from Chiang Mai into the mountainous region of Kallayaniwattana (Watchan) to the students' accommodation in the grounds of Watchan Hospital.

Each day, the group travelled by 4WD with hospital staff to remote villages to set up mobile health clinics in local schools.

Ms Maginnis, from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Dubbo, said, "Being the rainy season we experienced torrential downpours daily and roads being damaged by the volume and force of the water. The 4WD vehicles were an essential part of accessing remote villages.

"This alone was an adventure and we were able to take in the most breath taking scenery along the routes.

"Once in the villages, we assisted hospital staff in assessing and providing health care and supplying pharmacy."

The students also delivered health promotions to school students, including education about hand hygiene, teeth cleaning and the Healthy Eating Pyramid.

"We distributed and did basic visual acuity testing for more than 300 reading glasses and sunglasses donated by our local communities in Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst and Albury-Wodonga," Ms Maginnis said.

"These had an immediate and long lasting benefit for the villages. It was very emotional to watch the expressions of the villagers change as their vision improved."

The nursing students also brought donated supplies of toothbrushes and toothpaste, loom band kits, stickers, slinky and toy cars as well as pens and book marks for the children.

Ms Maginnis said, "These villages have limited access to health care and education and live simple lives while working extremely hard, for long hours, labouring in the fields, planting and harvesting a variety of crops such as rice, corn, strawberries, coffee beans and a variety of nuts and caring for their livestock.

"We also did home health visits and delivered health care while getting firsthand experience of village life and immersing ourselves in the Thai culture.

"It was both humbling and a privilege to be able to provide health care to the different villages and to be welcomed and immersed in the Thai culture.

Ag student networking

Agriculture employers will come together with more than 300 potential employees at a student-led careers fair at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 27 July.

The annual Approaching Ag Careers Fair provides an opportunity for students from CSU's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences to meet with industry professionals and agricultural organisations.

"This year more than 35 agricultural businesses, research organisations and industry groups will be represented," said Ms Emily Saker a Bachelor of Animal Science student and one of the organising committee.

"The fair is not just an important networking opportunity for the students, it's also an opportunity for employers to engage early with quality graduates."

Students will also get to hear about life after study from CSU alumni Ms Ashley Norvel, manager of technology, adoption and industry capability at Australian Pork Limited, and Ms Vanessa Warren an agronomist at Delta Agribusiness at Coolamon.

The Approaching Ag Careers Fair is from 4pm on Wednesday 27 July at Joyes Hall at CSU in Wagga Wagga. More information is available on Facebook.

Local justice experts provide legal experience

Three Bathurst justice experts have laid their experiences before at least 200 law students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) to help them learn about punishment and the state in the Australian legal system.

On Wednesday 20 July, Bathurst magistrate Michael Allen (left), Bathurst defence lawyer Shane Cunningham (right) and the police crime commander for Chifley region Acting Sergeant Colin Crome (centre) faced probing questions as part of an interactive panel for CSU students who are aiming to become police officers, social workers, psychologists and lawyers.

Over two hours, the panellists addressed the questions of 80 students in Bathurst on the goals and strategies of punishment, particularly from the viewpoint of regional Australia.

Panel coordinator Dr Kath McFarlane, who is a senior lecturer with the newly established Centre for Law and Justice at CSU, said the students in this subject were investigating, "How we punish, why we punish and the consequences for society if we get it wrong.

"The panellists provided unique perspectives on the practice and administration of various aspects of the criminal justice system, and exposed students to practical views and experiences they would not otherwise encounter," Dr McFarlane said.

In recognition of the 150 students enrolled in the subject across Australia via distance education, Dr McFarlane has also made the forum available as an audio file to students who were unable to attend in person.

The Biggest Estate on Earth – CSU public lecture

The next Charles Sturt University (CSU) Exploration Series free public lecture will examine the true nature of the Australian landscape in 1788.

The lecture by  Emeritus Professor Bill Gammage, AM, from the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra will discuss the subject of his book, The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia (2011), at CSU in Bathurst on Monday 1 August and at CSU in Dubbo on Tuesday 2 August.

"Much of the landscape of Australia at the time of British colonisation in 1788 was not natural but made," Professor Gammage (pictured) said.

"Using illustrations, this public lecture will sketch how Aboriginal people, including Wiradjuri, managed land at the time Europeans arrived. People allied with fire and no fire to distribute plants, and used plant distribution to locate animals, birds, reptiles and insects. Country was carefully arranged to give every species a preferred habitat according to Law, while resources were made abundant, convenient and predictable," he said.

Light refreshments and book sales/signings (book cost $35, cash only) will follow both public lectures.

Bathurst:

The Biggest Estate on Earth public lecture will start at 6pm Monday 1 August in room 223, building 1292, Panorama Avenue, Charles Sturt University; follow the event parking signs to car park P7.

For more information contact Ms Tarah Syphers, Regional Relations Assistant on (02) 6338 4645 or tsyphers@csu.edu.au

Dubbo:

The Biggest Estate on Earth public lecture will start at 6pm Tuesday 2 August in lecture theatre 422, building 902, Tony McGrane Place, Charles Sturt University in Dubbo.

For more information contact Ms Melissa Britnell, Regional Relations Assistant on (02) 6885 7370 or hocdubbo@csu.edu.au.

Physiotherapy student games

Physiotherapy students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Orange will this month meet in the NSW Central West for an inaugural sports competition.

The first ever CSU Inter-Physio Games will take place in Orange from Friday 22 July to Sunday 24 July.

Money raised during the weekend will go towards Cerebral Palsy Alliance. 

Organised by the University's physiotherapy student associations from Albury-Wodonga and Orange, the weekend will see the students compete against each other on Saturday in netball, basketball, touch football, ultimate frisbee and soccer.

CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann is due to attend the event on Saturday as well as a social function for the students at the Hotel Canobolas from 7pm on Saturday 23 July. On behalf of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Mr Rob Martinez will talk about the impacts of physiotherapy within communities.

On Sunday, the students will take part in a Pilates introductory course run by the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute.

Bachelor of Physiotherapy student Mr David Ternes said, "In addition to further developing the skills of the students, the event is being organised to introduce a 'friendly' rivalry between the two campuses."

The Bachelor of Physiotherapy is a four year program at CSU in Albury-Wodonga and Orange.

Macky makes the cut

Working part-time in a local butchery as a teenager has given Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Mr Macky Lawrence, from Kempsey, a better appreciation than most of what makes a good cut of meat.

This knowledge came to the fore at the recent Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Competition at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

The Bachelor of Agricultural Science student was selected in the national training squad and has the chance to be selected in the Australian team to tour the United States next year.

More than 130 students from ten Australian universities, along with teams from the United States, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia took part in the ICMJ competition held at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

The annual event is held by the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association to highlight the diverse range of careers in the meat industry.

"I met so many different people taking part in the competition," said Mr Lawrence. "Other university students who are studying similar degrees to me, alongside industry professionals who will provide great links and networks in the years to come."

Students are required to judge beef, lamb and pork carcasses and primal cuts, along with identifying a range of beef primals and beef, lamb and pork retail cuts.

Mr Lawrence was part of the 15 member CSU meat judging team made up of students from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, which trained for three months leading up to the competition.

"A big thank you to my coaches who got up at ridiculous hours in the morning for training sessions in the lecture rooms or at the abattoir," he said. "I highly recommend the competition for people in considering it in future years."

Mr Lawrence said it might sound like an unusual extra-curricular activity but meat judging is a great way to learn more about an industry he's passionate about.

"Living on a family owned beef cattle property in the Macleay Valley I wanted to know more about what happens to our product from paddock to plate," Mr Lawrence said.

"Taking part in this program has shown me the end result we should be aiming for to meet consumer demand."

"It's also shown me what we as producers can do to help processors deliver what consumers want, that is, a consistent premium product".

The national training for the Australian squad will be held in Brisbane on Saturday 20 August to Wednesday 24 August.