February 28, 2014

High demand at Batemans Bay for new nursing program

The University of Wollongong is this year offering for the first time a three-year Bachelor of Nursing and a four-year Advanced Bachelor Program at its Batemans Bay Campus.

Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery in the Faculty of Science Medicine and Health, Associate Professor Angela Brown, said there had been extremely high interest in the overall program.

Thirty four students have been accepted into the program which originally expected an intake of about 25. It will be delivered at Batemans Bay in a new wing which includes simulated wards and video links to the main campus in Wollongong and other satellite campuses.

The new program means students who previously would have had to travel to the Shoalhaven Campus at Nowra or Bega can now remain in their local area.

Associate Professor Sharon Bourgeois said students really wanted to study locally as shown at the Bega campus.

The enrolment intake is overwhelmingly female, with just two men among the 34.

The Eurobodalla area has almost double the national average of people aged over 65 hence the new program is being welcomed by aged care facilities and other health care providers.