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Top notch training ward opened in Ballarat

Fully automated mannequin patients bring to life the newest nursing training lab at ACU’s Ballarat Campus.

Featuring the layout and facilities of an actual hospital ward, the ward doubles the existing capacity for pre-clinical training nurses at the campus, providing industry-relevant skills to our students. The facility features 16 beds across the simulation wards, a simulation suite, control room and observation room, steri room, drugs room, pan room and updated AV equipment.

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison joined Vice-Chancellor Professor Zlatko Skrbis and ACU staff and students Ballarat to open the $1.9 million nurse training ward and simulation suite on Thursday 31 March. Drawn from the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund, the grant is a key part of the State Government’s $8.7 million investment to improve learning at ACU’s campus and build a pipeline of skilled workers, and part of a larger $350m for capital works, research infrastructure projects and applied research across the state’s higher education sector.

The project will also boost teaching capacity and allows for a more tailored approach to the delivery of learning.

Ms Addison said funding to local universities was a priority for the government to support a strong pipeline of locally trained professionals.

“Nurses have played a heroic role in Victoria during the pandemic and we’re strengthening the local workforce even more by providing world-class training opportunities to the next generation of healthcare experts,” she said.

Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis said the funding helped nursing and paramedicine students develop their skills further, becoming even more job ready to meet the growing demands across the healthcare industry in our region and beyond.

“The generous investment by the Victorian Government allows us to double our capacity to train pre-clinical nurses here in Ballarat.

“ACU is Australia’s largest educator of nurses, and at a time when the importance of our frontline health workforce has been so strongly highlighted, we remain committed to meeting the growing demand for nurses, paramedics and other healthcare workers, especially to communities throughout regional Victoria,” Professor Skrbis said.