An innovative program to encourage a new generation of rural nurses will literally take to the streets of Wagga Wagga. Six students studying their Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Coolamon Central School, Kildare Catholic College, Mount Austin and Wagga Wagga high schools are also enrolled in Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) nursing program. During their two-week clinical placement at CSU in Wagga Wagga, the teenagers will navigate a wheelchair through the Marketplace between 10am and 2pm on Friday 15 April and then be available to take blood pressures between 10am and 2pm in the Marketplace on Thursday 21 April. The program allows HSC students to study two, first year Bachelor of Nursing subjects while still at school. They are then given credit for the subjects when they formally start the degree at CSU. “The aim of the HSC Nursing program is to attract more people into nursing in rural and remote areas to meet the health needs of these communities,” said nursing lecturer at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Ms Krishna Lambert.