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A school that spreads out aged-care work placements across the semesters for those enrolled in a bachelor of nursing has had its first cohort of students provide feedback about the approach.
RSL LifeCare, Narrabeen and the Australian Catholic University’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine jointly launched the School of Clinical Practice in June last year. Anne Kauffmann, senior general manager at RSL Life Care, said students reported that week by week, they gained confidence and skills they didn’t believe they would have had if it wasn’t for their work experience throughout the semester. She added there were also areas where changes could be made.
Kauffmann said students working in highly challenging areas, such as a dementia-specific unit, who hadn’t had previous experience as a nurse or care assistant in aged care, sometimes felt overwhelmed. “We will consider placing them in a non-dementia specific unit in the first semester of their study and employment,” she said.
Still, Kauffmann said students and facilitators from the university and the aged-care facility saw that allowing students to build on their fundamental skills of nursing was a positive outcome of the model.
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