Archive
Dubbo nursing graduates farewelled
Friday, 7 Oct 2011Regional health services will benefit when 20 students who have completed the three-year Bachelor of Nursing degree at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo are farewelled at a special morning tea on Monday 10 October. Ms Lyn Croxon, course coordinator for the Bachelor of Nursing in Dubbo, said “These 20 students are among a larger cohort of 122 students graduating from the School across the University this semester. The students have just returned to the campus after a four-week placement focussing on the transition to practice as a Registered Nurse, and they received invaluable support from the staff in the various hospitals in which they undertook their clinical placements. They are now are eligible to register with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority. While the recent clinical placements were in Dubbo, Bathurst, and Sydney, other placements at smaller facilities in the region over the past three years contributed greatly to the students’ education and understanding of the modern health system. The University thanks all the staff at these regional health settings for their support of our programs, as the clinical element is an integral component of the course.”
Highlighting the sounds of silence
Friday, 7 Oct 2011A morning tea to be held this morning, Friday 7 October, at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will highlight how people can communicate their thoughts, needs and choices without speech. Speech pathology students in their second year of study at CSU will host the morning tea with a difference, where fellow students, staff and members of the public to learn how to communicate – and order scones, cakes, fruit and savouries - using simple sign language, cards, computers and even iPhones. Staged as part of International Alternative and Augmentative Awareness Month, the event coordinator and CSU lecturer, Ms Libby Clark, is encouraging people to join her students in the Gums Café on the Albury-Wodonga Campus between 11am and 12.30pm. “We wanted to hold a fun and practical event to expand the world of people who have little idea of how those with little or no speech communicate. Often people are anxious when they meet someone who communicates differently. We want people to know it’s not that difficult and to have some fun while they learn. You never know when this experience might come in handy,” Ms Clark said.
Paramedic extrication exercise at CSU in Bathurst
Tuesday, 4 Oct 2011
First-year paramedic students will come to grips with simulated injured passengers trapped in a mangled vehicle when they join with the State Emergency Service (SES) Bathurst Unit in a joint extrication exercise at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 6 October. Mr Brian Haskins, lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Bathurst, said, “As part of the Clinical Studies 2 course for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) we will work with the local SES to free three simulated patients from the staged wreckage using the ‘jaws of life’ cutting equipment. There will be eight treating paramedics from first-year and possibly some intensive care paramedics from second and third-years for this exercise, with all the other students observing. Exercises like this one are vital to provide our students with ‘real working life’ experiences.” Unlike the recent trauma simulation exercises on campus, this scenario will only run once.Elmo leads in crime scene investigation class
Tuesday, 4 Oct 2011
People can sift through the evidence, look for clues and help solve a hypothetical murder at a master class run by Charles Sturt University (CSU) at the Australian Education Fair in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on Saturday 15 October. The class, titled ‘Who killed Elmo: a forensic biotechnology investigation’ is designed to showcase the role of a scene of crime officer, just one career path for students undertaking a Bachelor of Forensic Biotechnology through CSU in Australia. Program leader for the Bachelor of Forensic Biotechnology, Dr Thiru Vanniasinkam said the class is a mock forensic biotechnology investigation. “It is a light-hearted way to give people some idea of what happens in a forensic laboratory. We work with fingerprint dusting powder, go through the evidence and come up with conclusions,” she said. “By the end of the class people will not only know who killed Elmo, but they will have more information about the programs offered at Charles Sturt University.”Human Geography premiere in Wagga Wagga
Tuesday, 4 Oct 2011
The premiere of the production, Human Geography by Australian playwright Mr Finegan Kruckemeyer will be held in Wagga Wagga on Saturday 8 October. The play, commissioned by Charles Sturt University (CSU), ‘entwines the stories of many lives through the meanderings of the flooded Murrumbidgee River’. Human Geography is directed by Ms Kim Hardwick, lecturer with the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga, for the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE). Ms Hardwick said, “We are delighted that Finegan will attend the premiere of his play in Wagga Wagga on Saturday. He wrote the new Australian work for Charles Sturt University and developed the play with our acting students. This has been an amazing opportunity for them.” The play premieres at 7.45pm on Saturday 8 October at the Riverina Playhouse in Cross Street, Wagga Wagga and runs until Saturday 22 October. Tickets range from $12.50 to $24 and can be purchased from the Civic Theatre booking office on 02 69269 688 or at the door. The Tour returns
Thursday, 22 Sep 2011Charles Sturt University (CSU) students provided prevention as well as cure for competitors in the 2011 Tour de Timor bicycle race. Six final year physiotherapy students provided screening, treatment and advice on preventing injuries to the 58 Timorese competitors in the week leading up to the race, which this year ran over seven days and 600 kilometres of mountains and rough roads. Developed as part of students’ required practical experience for their profession, the students provided physiotherapy services each day in hot, dusty conditions to competitors and volunteers, with demand peaking at 130 patients in one day. “The students were fantastic. They remained energetic and enthusiastic throughout the two weeks, often working with limited sleep,” said Mr Tim Retchford, placement coordinator and academic with CSU’s School of Community Health, based in Albury-Wodonga. “Competitors, race organisers and doctors and nurses from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in Australia gave glowing praise for the quality of our students’ work. They were even formally recognised when they received an award from East Timor’s president the Hon. Jose Ramos-Horta.”
Vale, Harold Mair
Monday, 12 Sep 2011It is with sadness that Charles Sturt University (CSU) adds its condolences to the family of Mr Harold Mair, OAM, who recently passed away in Albury. As Mayor and a member of the NSW parliament, Mr Mair was a good friend and supporter of the University’s predecessor organisations, particularly during the establishment of the Albury-Wodonga campus. He received an honorary doctorate from CSU in recognition of “his energetic and effective advocacy towards the establishment and development of facilities in the Border region, including Charles Sturt University,” said the Acting Head of CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Mr Garry Taylor. The University’s central Albury campus was first established on its Olive Street site during Mr Mair’s time as the NSW Member for Albury. CSU only recently moved most of its research and teaching facilities to Thurgoona.
Students remember sacrifice in Vietnam War
Wednesday, 17 Aug 2011
The 45th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam on Thursday 18 August will have special meaning for a group of final year Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in Wagga Wagga. The anniversary, which is now known as Vietnam Veterans Day, comes after a recent visit to the battle site by students. Bachelor of Agricultural Science students from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga visit the Long Tan memorial site in Vietnam in July each year during their annual two week agricultural study tour of the Southeast Asian nation. “It is an emotional day,” said CSU lecturer Dr Condon. “We walk students through the events of the 1966 battle. They are the same age as the Australian soldiers who fought at Long Tan and we take 18 students, the same number of Australians who died during the battle.” CSU student Ms Bek Ricketts of Robertson said, “Visiting Long Tan was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Being able to walk in the footsteps of such incredibly brave young people was truly amazing." Dr Condon said, “The students leave the site having a greater appreciation of our Vietnam veterans; it is a powerful and worthwhile part of our trip to Vietnam.”Canadian adventure for CSU students
Wednesday, 10 Aug 2011A group of five teaching students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia will spend the next four months studying at the CSU campus in Ontario, Canada. The students from Bathurst, Albury and Dubbo are studying the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) through the Faculty of Education. Dubbo-based student, Mr Pete Minney, seized the opportunity to study abroad. “I can broaden my experience by observing first-hand the strategies teachers from another country use and whether the children benefit from a different approach to education,” he said. The exchange has been supported by CSU Global, a University initiative which aims to increase the number of students undertaking international experiences as part of their studies.
Businesses accounting for energy costs
Monday, 1 Aug 2011With the Australian carbon tax on the horizon, Charles Sturt University (CSU) will provide an international perspective on how businesses can effectively account for their energy costs with a presentation on Wednesday 3 August. Professor Ulrich Nissen, from the University of Applied Science in Germany, will give a presentation on accounting for energy costs. Event organiser Dr Dianne McGrath with CSU’s School of Accounting and Institute for Land, Water and Society said Australian companies acknowledge they need to account for current and future energy costs. “This is where accounting professionals can assist. Business managers and accountants will need to develop skills and qualifications in energy cost management for now and especially the future, issues Professor Nissen has recently addressed by modifying university teaching in accounting in Germany,” Dr McGrath said. Professor Nissen’s presentation will commence at 9am until 11am on Wednesday 3 August via video conference in the Business Faculty building, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.