The Education For Practice Institute at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will hold its third practice-based education summit in Sydney on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 April. The 2013 Practice-Based Education Summit: Practice, Culture and Identity will hear from Australian and international practice-based education experts, led by the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) , Professor Garry Marchant and Director of the Education For Practice Institute, Professor Joy Higgs. The Deputy Director of CSU’s Education for Practice Institute, Associate Professor Franziska Trede, said, “The 2013 Summit will explore the connections between professional practice and concepts of culture and identity. Keynote speeches address knowledge practices in professions, practice in the digital age, and practicing professional identities. Delegates will examine the ways in which practice, culture and identity can inform future research and teaching directions for university-based professional education and workplace learning.” Visiting experts include Professor Monika Nerland (University of Oslo), Professor Rainer Winter (Alpen-Adrai University of Klagenfurt), Professor Nita Cherry (Swinburne University of Technology), Professor Jan Orrell (Flinders University), Professor David Boud (University of Technology, Sydney) and Dr Calvin Smith (Griffith University).

More than 100 first-year paramedic students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst have volunteered to assist when thousands of cyclists visit the region to participate in the annual NAB B2B race and ride from Bathurst to Blayney on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April. Ms Amanda Hlushak, associate lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The National Australia Bank B2B offers our first-year paramedic students the opportunity to gain experience and involvement in the local community. They are required to undertake 80 to100 hours of practical experience in the community as part of their university studies, so volunteering for the B2B enables the students to accrue these hours and gain valuable experience to add to their learning. Although they are in the early stages of their paramedic education, all of the students have a solid understanding of basic triage principles and are Senior First Aid qualified. They will be provided with a basic first aid kit, supplied by the B2B organising committee, to enable them to deliver first-on-the scene assistance to any cyclists who experience difficulties or have mishaps.” The paramedic students will supplement the increased number of St John’s First Aid officers and the 100 volunteers to be located throughout the three courses of the NAB B2B.

The State Emergency Service (SES) unit in Bathurst will assist Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic students in an extrication exercise on Wednesday 17 April. Mr Brian Haskins, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The SES will join 15 postgraduate paramedic diploma students to participate in a joint extrication practice using the ‘jaws of life’ on a car donated by Bathurst Auto Parts. We really value the assistance of the SES and Bathurst Auto Parts in the running of these joint training exercises which allow our students to practise their extrication skills in realistic simulations. These simulators are used to practise extricating patients from car seats using devices such as the Kendrick extrication device (KED). Ms Susanne Dixon, the Rescue Team Leader of the Bathurst SES Unit and a training officer with the CSU Division of Information Technology in Bathurst, suggested the idea for the simulators to me at a joint extrication exercise last year.” The simulators were built by the University’s facilities management staff, with materials donated by Bathurst Auto Parts and funded by the CSU Student Paramedics Association. Eight simulation seats were made, each worth approximately $250, with seven for the CSU paramedic program clinical teaching spaces and one for the SES Bathurst Unit. After the exercise, a car seat simulator will be presented to the Bathurst SES Unit.

Construction of the new $14.1 million Bathurst Community Engagement and Wellness Precinct clinical facilities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has begun. Mr Col Sharp, Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, said, “This is an exciting development which will improve the education of our clinical students and also provide an enhanced range of integrated clinical services for the Bathurst region. The integration of multiple clinical services in the one location is important. Firstly, it is a cornerstone of the University’s approach to promote and embed team-based inter-professional care to fulfil their role in the future health and medical workforce. It will also improve patient outcomes through an enhanced focus on prevention and early intervention, and effective management of patients with chronic diseases and complex care needs.” Funding for the project is from three sources: $7.1 million from Health Workforce Australia (HWA), an Australian Government initiative; $6 million from the Health and Hospitals Fund (HHF) initiative of the Australian Government under the Department of Health and Aging, as part of the Australian Government’s broader nation-building infrastructure program; and a $1 million Charles Sturt University contribution from the CSU Infrastructure Plan - Capital Development Plan. The facility is projected to be completed by December 2013 and will become operational in 2014.

Approximately 80 third-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic students attended Macquarie Care Centre in Bathurst this week to gain practical experience assessing elderly patients. The students took baseline sets of observations for about 20 residents, and interviewed them about their life, medications, and cardiac history. Ms Sonja Maria, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to spend time with elderly patients, a group which is the main client in the ambulance industry. This reciprocal exchange has been warmly received and we look forward to together building a stronger relationship in future.”

A new Charles Sturt University (CSU) 'trauma car', which has been designed and constructed to enable paramedic students to practice extrication of injured people from vehicles following road accidents, will be unveiled at the Community Careers and Recruitment Fair in Penrith on Saturday 4 May. Mr Sandy MacQuarrie, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The new trauma car will form the backdrop for showcasing the very interesting career of paramedics when five final-year paramedic students and I participate at the Community Careers and Recruitment Fair in Penrith tomorrow. We are always interested in sharing information and insights into the range of careers paramedics can pursue, and our students will be able to talk about their experiences in the program. The trauma car was specially constructed for us by apprentices at TAFE Western in Dubbo, NSW. We trialled it during a recent residential school in Bathurst for postgraduate paramedic students, and it surpassed all expectations.”

The annual FACTS Day (Facts About Careers and Tertiary Study) for Year 12 high schools students across the Central West will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 9 May. FACTS Day is organised by the Central West Careers Advisers Association to assist students explore their future career and employment opportunities. Prospective Student Adviser at CSU, Ms Fran Dwyer, said, “Approximately 1 000 Year 12 students from schools in Bathurst, Lithgow, Kandos, Oberon, Blayney, Cowra, Canowindra, Orange, Molong and Wellington will seek information from about 120 representatives of more than 60 career and employer organisations, including universities, private providers, TAFE, Centrelink, police, and other government agencies. FACTS Day provides regional final-year high school students the opportunity to speak with a range of educational providers, and hear a motivational speaker. It is also an opportunity for students to experience Charles Sturt University by attending the campus, which some schools will tour.”

Railway experts and community representatives will discuss the potential for redevelopment of freight lines in regional NSW at the Regional Rail Revival seminar in Blayney on Friday 10 May. The seminar is hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU), Blayney Shire Coun­cil and Lachlan Regional Transport Committee, with the support of Cowra, Harden, Weddin, and Young Shire Councils. Adjunct Associate Professor Ian Gray, from the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society in Wagga Wagga, said, “Participants will hear how interstate and overseas railways have been revived for national and local benefit. Regional areas suffer from high freight costs which constrain economic development, and councils are expected to take up the burden of increased road maintenance. The seminar will provide an update on the initiative by five local government areas that now sees the NSW government considering reviving the railway line south from Blayney to Demondrille, and how this rail model can be applied in different situations.”

Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC, CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst as part of her visit to the city on Tuesday 14 May. Her Excellency will be welcomed to the University by the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, and Professor David Wilson, Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, when she arrives at the CSU Dental Clinic at 12 noon. After a tour of the clinic, Ms Bryce will meet other senior CSU executives, nursing staff and students at The Grange Chancellery for lunch to mark International Nurses’ Week. At 1.10pm Her Excellency will tour the campus and will officially open the Inter-Professional Clinical Simulation Centre (building W11). Her Excellency will depart CSU at 2pm.