Indigenous nursing completion rate highest in the nation

USQ Indigenous Health Lecturer Lynne Stuart, there are few things that bring her more satisfaction than seeing Indigenous Nursing graduates return to their communities following graduation.

And with so many USQ Indigenous Nursing students graduating this year, Lynne has a big reason to celebrate.

'At the University we have the highest number of Indigenous nursing completions nationally with a large number of these students coming from all over Queensland,' she said.

'This year alone we will have 15 Indigenous students graduating, which is a great result for our Faculty.'

With the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians still alarmingly high, Mrs Stuart added that it was vital that this exceptional graduation rate was maintained by the University.

'It is extremely important that they return to their communities so that they can contribute to the wellness of their community and pass on the knowledge that they have learnt through their studies.

'In many instances Indigenous health is something that is a sad reality of life as a lot of the time their family are the statistics.'

The Indigenous nursing program has become so popular that the Faculty of Sciences has employed two more academics to help with the student load.

'We have two new staff members, Anne Maree Nielsen and Vicki Horner, who are assisting me and specialise in mental health and midwifery,' Lynne said.

'Their expertise has been invaluable and they also work closely with the University’s Centre for Australian Indigenous Knowledges (CAIK) and our Indigenous Connections Manager Kim Walmsley to help support our students.

'One of the reasons our courses have been so well received is that we have Indigenous and culturally sensitive mainstream academics here who our students feel comfortable talking to.

'We have also experienced a high retention rate with our Indigenous students, unlike other universities, because we have been able to indigenise the course with support strategies specifically with an Indigenous aspect and that has really appealed to our students.'

Although Indigenous Nursing at USQ has produced a high number of graduates, Lynne said that there were still challenges facing the course.

'Sixty percent of the Indigenous population is made up of people under the age of 20, so that is a very young population.

'At the moment we are attracting a high number of mature age students but not as many high school leavers as we would like.

'Our Indigenous Connections Manager Kim Walmsley is aiming to focus on this demographic and boost the number of Indigenous school leavers studying nursing.'

At USQ’s second 2010 graduation on Saturday April 24, 10 Indigenous nursing students will graduate from the University.