For health sciences students, the chance to work with patients is invaluable. At Curtin University, students are not only getting the opportunity to improve their healthcare skills but also to have a greater impact on the community.
Curtin has partnered with the City of Cockburn to secure a 20-year lease at the GP Super Clinic in the new Cockburn Integrated Health and Community facility. It will allow students to work alongside health professionals to improve health outcomes for the Cockburn community.
The student-led clinic will provide people who suffer from chronic conditions assistance in managing their condition. Students will work collaboratively with other health professionals and the client to develop a comprehensive client-centered treatment plan. There will be emphasis on self-management, by providing clients with the skills to manage their condition long term and achieve their personal goals.
The clinic will offer healthcare services for the greater Cockburn community and also provide supervised training for future health professionals.
Health Sciences Interprofessional Practice Coordinator Peter Harvey says the partnership will greatly benefit students wanting to practice their skills in a real-life setting.
“It provides students a great opportunity to work with a range of qualified health professionals in an outpatient setting, with the aim of providing evidence-based primary healthcare,” Peter says.
“Students will be working with the residents in the community. This will provide students with hands-on experience to improve their skills and knowledge, enabling them to become better healthcare practitioners.
“It also exposes students to people who have a variety of conditions, who are young and old, as well as allowing them to work together, with industry, to improve client health outcomes as a team,” he explains.
Students will work collaboratively with a range of health professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapist and nurses, and fellow students from a variety of disciplines, to enable them to expand their skills and knowledge of the health industry as well as their discipline field.
“There will be the opportunity for students from all areas of Curtin to be involved such as medical imaging students, marketing, finance and media;, all of whom can assist in the creation of a fantastic interprofessional experience,“ Peter says.
Curtin’s contribution to the clinic will be used for developing additional services for the community and further education for staff at the clinic.
“Students will identify areas of ‘unmet need’ within the community and develop evidence-based health programs to fill these gaps.”
