AI in education: Friend or foe?
News 24 AprilA message from Executive Dean of Education and Arts Professor Mary Ryan: While Artificial Intelligence holds tremendous potential to enhance various aspects of human life, its deployment raises critic...
06 May 2016
Share
Local volunteers involved in ACU’s Barefoot Nurses: Train the Trainer program (TTT) in Timor-Leste have revealed the daily hardships they face living in isolated villages without access to proper health care.
An ACU team has just returned from Timor-Leste and said one volunteer who attended a workshop had to walk 90 minutes from her village before hiring a motorcycle to meet with the group.
“It became apparent that due to the remoteness of the community that she lives in, there are no visiting health clinics coming into the community as is usually the case in other communities,” Sr Monica Whelan, from the Institute for Advancing Community Engagement said.
“She was very keen to learn more about health and medical aid in order to be able to support her community where there are limited local health care facilities.
“Health Education such as Train the Trainer (TTT) can help empower communities like hers to better understand and care for their health.”
Sr Monica was joined by Meg Stuart, National Head of School of Science, and Shannon Barnes, Lecturer in Nursing, as they met with locals in Baucau, Timor-Leste, to prepare for TTT in June and September.
The Barefoot Nurses team works together with ACU’s partners including the local community, local organisations and the Ministry of Health. Together they are helping to fight the high rate of childhood mortality and disease in Timor-Leste by teaching locals basic skills in Medical Aid, promoting health literacy and basic care by the Timorese for the Timorese.
The team also heard of a recent outbreak of gastroenteritis that swept through a village threatening the lives of children. It was problems like this one that highlighted the need for ACU’s programs. TTT program has been running in two locations: Maubisse for the past four years and Baucau for the past two years, with more than 50 participants trained in each location.
ACU Team said the program not only helped local communities but also boosted the learning and teaching experience for ACU students. Nursing students have provided hands on assistance for the practical sessions of the training, for example application of burns dressings, bandages, slings and other associated health conditions.
“For nursing students these interactions count towards their community health practicum? and they are assessed on their performance.”
Shannon Barnes said ACU’s approach is focused on making personal contact with the Timorese people, being sensitive to their needs and culture, patiently educating them in effective ways of improving their own health and cooperating with local health initiatives.
“The main focus of the Barefoot Nurses has been and is, to support the basic health needs of the people through capacity building.”
The program won the Vice-Chancellor Award for Outstanding Community Engagement last year because it was recognized and acknowledged as fulfilling the University’s Mission to serve the common good, guided by a fundamental concern for justice, equity and the dignity of all human beings.
The TTT model has considerable relevance across Timor-Leste, for other developing countries and for communities in Australia. TTT is a reference point and a lighthouse program by the Catholic Alliance for International Development (CAID) in its work in Timor-Leste.
Meg said local healthcare communities identified more areas in which ACU could assist, such as additional training for local nursing staff.
“There is minimal allied health service provision in Timor-Leste and there is potential to work in this area for both staff and students.”
A message from Executive Dean of Education and Arts Professor Mary Ryan: While Artificial Intelligence holds tremendous potential to enhance various aspects of human life, its deployment raises critic...
Gratitude is a word that can often be both over-used and overlooked at times. But this simple word can be powerful in our personal and professional lives.
Register for information sessions on using the Online Course Completion Assessment (OCCA) portal. Sessions will be held on 9 and 14 May and are open to all staff.
ACU are leading a national study, PROSPECT, to understand what Australian university staff and students believe are the priorities for research in learning and teaching. You’re invited to participate.
Eligible academic staff will soon be able to self-nominate to join the Academic Promotions committees to assess applications for promotions. Keep an eye out for the email if interested.
ACU Library is running a session ‘Research Essentials: Get Published - strategic publishing for success’ on 18 April - book now.
ACU is proud to announce the official launch of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program, and to introduce the Sunflower Champions who will support individuals with hidden disabilities.
Several improvements have been made to this year’s round. These include a reduction in the number of academic domains, an enhanced Notice of Intent process, revised committee structures and more stre...
A message from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Abid Khan: A comprehensive roadmap will chart our research future in line with Vision 2033 and Australia’s higher education se...
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Semester 1 (202430) and Professional Term 3 (202415).
The process to determine a finding of Poor Academic Practice following an allegation of academic misconduct has substantially changed. Read more to learn about the key updates.
Introducing the new Research Ethics, Research Integrity and Research Compliance webpages.
The first Aquero lecture of the year is kicking off this week on Thursday, ‘You are what you eat and how you sleep!’ divulging the lessons learned from 50 years working with elite athletes.
All staff are encouraged to participate in ACU’s annual flu vaccination program to help maintain their health and wellbeing. All staff, including casuals and sessional staff, are eligible to participa...
Register to attend and hear our newest professors from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Laura Miller and Professor Gert-Jan Pepping, speak about their impactful work being undertaken in teach...
All staff and students are invited to a commemorative prayer service ahead of ANZAC Day, to remember and honour our service men and women who exemplified courage and self-sacrifice in service of our c...
Last call to recommend a process improvement - survey extended until close of business Friday 19 April
The Professional Services Hub model provides portfolios and faculties with a greater level of proactive coordination and integration across professional services. This ultimately improves services for...
The Centre for Education & Innovation is hosting virtual Q&A sessions with Assessment Panel Chair, Associate Professor Alison Owens to assist you in the preparation of your application.
Are you considering undertaking a systematic or scoping review? ACU Library has two one-hour introductory webinars designed to get you started.
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.