Tara Murray
As health demands and changing technology have forced change in how people’s health is treated, the La Trobe University nursing program has had to change with it.
The program recently celebrated 50 years of nursing education with a celebration at the Bundoora campus.
School of Nursing and Midwifery Dean Professor Lisa McKenna said it was a pretty special milestone to celebrate.
In 1974, La Trobe adopted the first nursing pre-registration diploma program in Australia from the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences, which was formerly introduced by the Royal College of Nursing.
La Trobe took over running the program in 1987 when state legislation was passed incorporating the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences into La Trobe University
“Health care changes so rapidly now,” she said. “Education has had to change rapidly as well to keep pace.
“The growth of telehealth and COVID.. It’s constantly evolving.”
Professor McKenna has been Dean at La Trobe for eight years.
She said even in that time they’d had to build new laboratories and research has had to change.
In the QS World University Rankings, which compare universities across the world, Latrobe’s nursing program is now in the top 50 after being outside the top 250.
Across all the La Trobe campuses there are more than 3500 nursing students currently enrolled across a number of different courses.
With significant population growth, Professor McKenna said there were lots of jobs for nurses.
“There’s lots of jobs in the north and west and our graduates are highly sought after,” she said. “With the population growth we’re seeing Northern Health continue to grow.”
As part of the La Trobe nursing program, there are now four clinical schools housed in hospitals to help give that hands-on experience, including at the Northern Hospital.
Professor McKenna said it helps make that transition into nursing easier and more and more are going to the Northern.
She said with the celebration of 50 years, it made her look back at her own career.
“I was hospital trained,” she said. “How it has changed.
“The skills, the personal care… Nurses are now doing a different scope of tasks.
“Fifty years ago it was really different.”
