Nursing and allied health students as well as aged care residents at Illoura Village will benefit from the Southern Queensland Rural Health Education and Training Hub which was officially opened today in Chinchilla.
The hub will provide unique learning opportunities for student nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and exercise physiologists to work with Illoura Village residents during their clinical placement.
Last year, 31 students from five universities completed more than 200 placement weeks in Chinchilla.
The hub will support future students undertaking clinical placements in Chinchilla by providing access to an aged care simulation space that includes training mannequins, an outdoor education space and a training room. This is in addition to the practical training students will receive by working with older people at Illoura Village.
The Albanese Government provided $3.4 million to support the fit out of the education and training hub, to buy housing for students during placement, and operational funding to support students’ clinical placements.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister McBride:
“Providing opportunities for university students to complete their clinical placements in rural Australia will help develop our rural health workforce, because students who study in a regional area are more likely to work in these communities.
“The Albanese Government is committed to building Australia’s rural health workforce to meet the needs of people in the bush.
“This Education and Training Hub will provide more opportunities for nursing and allied health students to complete their clinical placements in rural Queensland and at the same time deliver high quality care to the residents at Illoura Village.”