AUSTRALIA needs more nurses and TAFE NSW Coffs campus is playing a pivotal role in training these much-needed healthcare workers.

Australia is currently in the midst of a nursing shortage, with Health Workforce Australia estimating the nation will need an additional 100,000 nurses by 2025 to meet demand.

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President of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, Karen Booth, said COVID-19 has highlighted the crucial need for nurses in our communities and said TAFE NSW is key to meeting future workforce demand.

“Right now, we need nurses and healthcare workers who can hit the ground running when they graduate.

“TAFE NSW has a track record of providing an excellent training ground for our new workers because of its practical, hands-on training,” said Karen.

“Nursing is a profession driven by passion and a sense of purpose, so it’s important we guide and support new nurses and healthcare workers into the roles they resonate with.

“I have found that because TAFE NSW has industry-qualified teachers, they develop workers that are well-trained, and also provide career guidance so that students find their niche and enjoy successful, fulfilling careers.”

TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour graduate Tam Hayer completed a Diploma of Nursing and is now working as an Enrolled Nurse at Coffs Harbour Health Campus.

“I was working at an aged care facility and especially enjoyed the personal care part of the role, which is where I was inspired by a registered nurse colleague to enrol and study the Diploma of Nursing at TAFE NSW,” Tam said.

“The facilities at TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour are state-of-the-art.

“Learning in the simulated labs means you are taught the real skills you need on the job, like how to distribute medications, assess a patient’s health status, and how to recognise when a patient is showing signs of improvement or deterioration.

“The classes and my teachers taught me to think more clinically about my patients rather than simply read an observations machine.”

Health, Wellbeing and Community Services Head of Skills Team, Jane Smith, said TAFE NSW’s Diploma of Nursing offers a pathway into nursing in just eighteen months, with eligible students able to study fee-free under JobTrainer.

“Since the NSW Government invested in JobTrainer twelve months ago, more than 136,000 people have undertaken free training and that number is growing by the day,” Jane said.

Explore hundreds of courses in nursing and healthcare at TAFE NSW.

For more information visit www.tafensw.edu.au or phone 131 601.

By Andrea FERRARI