Federation University and St John of God Hospital Ballarat have partnered to create a new clinical school to train the next generation of nurses ready to step straight in to graduate programs.
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Twelve Fed Uni nursing students have begun their first placements at SJOG where they will complete all placements throughout their three-year Bachelor of Nursing course.
SJOG nursing director Maria Noonan hopes the new clinical school will be an important step in providing nursing students with a supportive learning environment which will hopefully flow into an ongoing working relationship with will help ease the shortage of nurses in Ballarat.
"Some students love to move around (on placements) but for others it doesn't really suit them with family commitments or they don't like to move," she said.
"The clinical nursing school allows us to bring students in for one, two or three years to do all their placements at St John of God. It sustains students in nursing, which is what we want more than ever. We need students to start nursing and stay in because we have such a critical skill shortage."
Once fully established, the clinical school will have at least 36 students across all years completing placement at the hospital.
Ms Noonan said training in the one hospital meant students were familiar with their surroundings, staff and it reduced their anxiety as well as increasing the likelihood of them staying into the future.
The hospital will also expand its graduate nursing program next year from 15 places to more than 25, and will provide dedicated graduate programs in specialty areas like midwifery, operating theatres and intensive care.
Ms Noonan said recruitment was a top priority for the hospital.
"We have dedicated so much time to recruitment this year I can't even put a figure on it," she said.
"We are starting to chip away at our deficit but the problem is everyone is fighting for the same nurses."
SJOG is also recruiting overseas, particularly in the UK and Ireland and is changing its culture to better support junior nurses.
Fed Uni's Georgina Willetts, professor of nursing and practice development, said creating a sense of belonging and ownership meant students did not have to get used to a new organisation each placement.
"That means the cognitive load is reduced so they are able to learn about the skills and nursing practice rather than focus on being in a new organisation all the time," she said.
Professor Willetts said providing a pipeline of staff particularly in regional areas was fundamental to the future of healthcare.
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