The Next Generation of Nurses Using Robot Patients For Training
As part of the Australian Government’s commitment to help address the future health workforce needs of the community, nurses and midwives are undertaking training with robot patients that talk, breath and move at new $5 million laboratories at the University of Technology, Sydney.
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Previous MinistersJoint Release
The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Health
Professor Ross Milbourne
Vice Chancellor, University of Technology, Sydney
29 March 2012As part of the Gillard Government’s commitment to help address the future health workforce needs of the community, nurses and midwives are undertaking training with robot patients that talk, breath and move at new $5 million laboratories at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Health Minister Tanya Plibersek today opened the nine new labs, which include both adult and infant simulation mannequins, to provide students with the life-like practical experience they need to complete clinical training.
“Nurses and midwives are the backbone of our health system, providing clinical care and comfort to millions of Australian patients every year,” said Ms Plibersek.
“This investment in better learning environments recognises the importance of nursing and its expanding role in caring for patients.”
Ms Plibersek said the Government was helping to address nursing needs by providing clinical training to an additional 3,220 registered nurses in three years; supporting 1,000 new undergraduate nursing places each year; and supporting nurses to work in places of high need such as rural workplaces, aged care, primary care and emergency medicine.
The UTS labs were constructed using $2.4 million in Commonwealth funding and $2.6 million in funding from UTS.
Ms Plibersek said the robotic simulation mannequins at UTS have realistic human features such as rising and falling chests, and heart and lung functions symptomatic of a range of health conditions.
“To provide students with a life-like experience, the robots display symptoms such as pain and, with the help of a technician, appear to speak, explaining their health condition as would a real patient.”
UTS Vice Chancellor Professor Ross Milbourne said the University’s Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health was the largest of its kind in NSW and that approximately 900 nursing and midwifery students will have access to the new labs each year.
“This laboratory development is considered world class; having nine clinical labs allows us to run all nursing and midwifery professional subject classes in realistic clinical settings. We are the only university in NSW with this capability,” he said.
“The use of practice-based learning including health simulation technology to better prepare our undergraduate nurses recognises the complexity and challenges that nurses face each day in hospitals and clinical practice around the country.”
Professor Milbourne said the labs are equipped with bays that house the computer-controlled simulation patients as well as audio-visual technology to provide recording and playback capability of simulation scenarios for debriefing and self assessment.
As part of the commitment to deliver for future nursing needs, the Government is also delivering:
- $390 million in additional funding for 4,600 full time nurse positions in GP clinics over four years. Clinics receive up to $25,000 a year to employ a registered nurse, allowing GPs to focus more on patients with complex needs.
- $82 million for nursing and midwifery scholarships over four years under the Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship Support Scheme, including nurses in hospitals and general practice. 1,141 new scholarships were awarded under the scheme last year.
- $32 million to deliver 3,000 locum placements for nurses and 400 allied health locum placements over four years under the Nursing and Allied Health Rural Locum Scheme.
Ms Plibersek’s office: 02 6277 7220
Nicole Scott at UTS: 0402 552 368
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