New SA aged care hub

A new South Australian student learning hub may benefit University of Adelaide nursing students during their training to care for the elderly.

Reportedly the first of its kind in the state, the new aged care learning hub, based at an aged care facility east of Adelaide, is a collaborative project between the University of Adelaide and care provider Resthaven.

The hub officially opened at Resthaven’s Mitcham site last month, where nursing students are now undertaking clinical placements.

Resthaven has made a residential unit available for conversion into a learning hub for students as a result of funding support from Health Workforce Australia as part of its ‘developing workforce initiative’.

University of Adelaide nursing students, who use the hub as a location for education and training, will be able to take their knowledge and skills directly into a ‘real world’ aged care setting.

“Aged care is critical to the future needs of our state and nation,” Associate Professor, Judy Magarey, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Nursing, says.

“As our population ages, so too does our nursing workforce. It will be very important for new generations of nurses to gain hands on skills and understanding of aged care, which will enable them to provide the best possible quality of nursing in the years to come.”

The learning hub includes a clinical skills area, equipment typical of an aged care setting, such as lifters, walking frames, and bathrooms and showers.

“The hub offers an ideal environment for students to practice clinical skills, such as wound care and taking vital signs, as well as showering and assisting patients to move around,” Associate Professor Magarey says.

She adds students can develop confidence and clinical competency in the hub before translating that learning into the real environment.

Resthaven chief executive, Richard Hearn, says the care provider has a tradition of working with tertiary institutions to offer students real life experience in aged care.

“An appropriately skilled and available future workforce is a significant issue, so we are happy to further extend our resources to this work with the university and to increase clinical placements for nursing students in aged care,” he says.