The newly-appointed Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, has returned from teaching a one week course for paramedics from several states centred around the  US state of Illinois. “They have a very different system in the US to ours in Australia,” Professor O’Meara explained. “The professional practice and management issues are similar, however they have 17 000 ambulance service providers compared to eight in Australia. Services range from very small to moderately sized organisations serving a city or regional community and there are no state-wide services. Many are run by the fire brigade, others by city councils, hospitals and private companies, some for profit and others not-for-profit. In Australia we are well advanced in the education and training of paramedics and ambulance service managers. However, we can learn from experiences in the US where they face challenges over a very large and diverse country. I see potentially great opportunities for the University to extend into the US paramedic education market in partnership with professional associations and other universities involved in paramedic education. I am also pursuing opportunities for CSU paramedic students to undertake clinical placements in the US.”

Parents of NSW Central West senior high school students are encouraged to register for an opportunity to discuss life after Year 12 with staff and current students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 26 February. “The Parent Information session will look at options after Year 12 such as a gap year, graduate outcomes, pathways into university and costs associated with university study,” CSU prospective student advisor Ms Fran Dwyer said. “Parents will find out about financial assistance such as scholarships, student support services, discuss regional universities versus metropolitan universities, and we will also offer an optional campus tour.” Running from 9.30am to 12noon on Friday 26 February, the session will take place at CSU in Orange. To register, call Ms Judy Walsh on (02) 6338 6010.

Mental health industry representatives and Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff in Orange will hear about Australia’s only mental health program for Indigenous people at a meeting being held this Thursday 11 March. The Djirruwang Program, run by CSU’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, is recognised  as a best practice model within CSU. The University's Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health), which is part of the program, aims to prepare graduates who have appropriate knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to work competently as mental health workers within their own communities and mainstream mental health services. The course is designed in collaboration with a community-based Aboriginal Mental Health Steering Committee and the Greater Southern Area Health Service. The members of the seminar panel include Head of the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health Professor Elaine Duffy, Course Coordinator Mr Wayne Rigby, clinical coordinator of Aboriginal Mental Health, Mr Tyrone Toomey, and Program graduate Ms Sonia Butler.

Undergraduate business students from South Korea and China who will study business at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will be welcomed at a special morning tea  on Wednesday 24 March. The Acting Head of the School of Business, Dr PK Basu, said the students will spend at least one year completing the CSU undergraduate business degrees they commenced at Donggkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, or at Jilin University in Changchun, China. “This is the first group of students from Donggkuk University to study at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, and they chose this campus because of the climate and the access to Sydney,” Dr Basu said. “Students from Jilin University have been studying Charles Sturt University business courses for the last decade, and its academics and students regularly visit the University’s campuses in Australia. This year we have 12 Chinese students studying in Bathurst. Both groups of students have said they are enjoying their educational experience and the rural and regional setting,” Dr Basu said. It is expected that the number of students from Korea and China studying at CSU in Bathurst will continue to grow.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will recognise academic excellence among its graduating students and the wider community at Graduation in Orange on Friday 26 March. Graduates include those studying Agricultural Business Management, Nursing, Pharmacy and Clinical Science. The occasional address will be delivered by Mr Charles Armstrong, President of the NSW Farmers Association, and the vote of thanks on behalf of graduates will be given by Agricultural Business Management graduate Mr Simon Crump, who recently participated in a two month Australian Indonesian Youth Exchange Program and has begun his career in the agricultural industry at the NSW Farmers Association in Sydney. The graduation ceremony will be held at the Orange Civic Theatre at 10.30am on Friday 26 March with graduates, their families and friends attending the ceremony.

The Lithgow Ambulance Station will be recognised on Wednesday 24 March by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst for being the ambulance station that provided the best mentoring for CSU paramedic students during 2009. Senior representatives of NSW Ambulance and paramedic students who went to Lithgow for clinical placements in 2009 will be present when Professor Peter O’Meara and senior lecturer Ms Veronica Madigan, the 2009 CSU Lecturer of the Year, present the School’s Certificate of Excellence in Clinical Mentoring. Professor O’Meara said, “This inaugural award is in appreciation of the positive role of the Lithgow paramedics in preparing CSU paramedic students for practice. The selection of the Lithgow station for this award was based on feedback from students who undertook clinical placements at 50 ambulance stations throughout NSW. The mentoring approach of the Lithgow paramedics has set a standard that other ambulance stations can now aim for in order to make a major contribution to the education and training of paramedic students.”

A paramedic from the South Australia Ambulance Service brings a different perspective on pre-hospital ambulance practice to her new role as a paramedic educator at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, welcomed the appointment of Ms Rhiannon Evans, saying, “Rhiannon strengthens the paramedic program through her experience as a recent graduate and her clinical practice. She brings the youth and vitality that was so much a feature of her leadership role within Student Paramedics Australasia (SPA), a special interest group of the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals.” Ms Evans’ first interaction with CSU staff and students was in her role with SPA. “I was surprised at how relaxed and friendly everyone was,” she said. “Even before I applied for the lecturer position, I was being supported and encouraged. I’m a strong believer that a great education is student-driven and is about encouraging students to focus their learning to get the most from their experiences.”

The effective management of diabetes, one of Australia’s major health problems, will come through input from a range of health professionals, not just a general practitioner (GP), says Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy Patrick Ball of Charles Sturt University (CSU). In response to the Federal Government’s plan to keep the growing number of diabetics out of hospital, Professor Ball said one-on-one professional input from diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists are needed to tackle the health problem. “While additional resources are welcome, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan seems to lack a clear appreciation of how the outcomes will best be delivered, particularly in inland Australia,” Professor Ball said. “While the GP must always be kept in the information loop, routing all the resources through already over-worked general practices is unlikely to be the best way to achieve the outcomes for which the government is aiming.” Professor Ball believes the successful control of Type 2 Diabetes requires that the diabetic takes their prescribed treatment but successful management also requires a change of diet and lifestyle.  “This has to come from the person, the family and the community.  How can one person change their diet if the rest of their household will not?  How can people walk more if we don’t have safe streets and pavements?” questioned Professor Ball.

Ms Kath Read has travelled from South Australia to take part in residential classes in Orange as part of her distance education studies in Ecological Agricultural Systems  at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Tired of sitting at a desk in her career as a successful graphic and web designer, Ms Read decided to quit her job and complete a permaculture course in Adelaide. Having gained the certificate, she has now moved on to a degree which she hopes will see her consulting in third world countries, ensuring farms can be more sustainable. “If you want to get somewhere and be taken seriously, I think a degree is the best thing you can do,” Ms Read said. “By coming along to the residential classes, I can meet like-minded people taking the course, and bounce ideas around before heading back home and continuing my studies.” Residential schools for distance education courses are taking place on CSU campuses across central and southern NSW throughout the week.