Gold Standard Resuscitation Training To Become New Normal For UCOL Nursing Ākonga

UCOL | Te Pūkenga is thrilled to introduce a new partnership with the New Zealand Resuscitation Council, with their critical emergency care education being taught to all nursing ākonga (learners) enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing.

Every UCOL Bachelor of Nursing ākonga will have the opportunity to take part in the Council’s Certificate of Resuscitation and Emergency Care (CORE), which meets current content taught in their third-year curriculum. It gives participants knowledge for the management of life-threatening illnesses and injuries for adults and children, which can have a huge impact on a patient’s survival.

Throughout the New Zealand healthcare industry, having a CORE qualification is seen as the gold standard for resuscitation training. UCOL is currently the only nurse education provider in New Zealand to offer this learning to its ākonga.

Five CORE sessions were held recently at Te Whaioranga, UCOL’s new health sciences education centre in partnership with Te Whatu Ora MidCentral. Ākonga gave very positive feedback, with Erena Hoera-Lilo stating she found it “educational and motivating”.

“It taught me about the importance of teamwork, leadership, and how vital it is to have good and effective communication skills.”

Graham Malone, Nurse Education Lecturer, is excited about this new collaboration.

“In my experience as a perioperative nurse and military medic, I’ve seen firsthand the value that a confident, skilled resuscitation practitioner can bring to a healthcare emergency. CPR training is updated as international science and advice changes. This way our ākonga are learning from the absolute experts.”

Steve Jenkins, Nurse Consultant Resuscitation at Te Whatu Ora MidCentral, feels this is mutually beneficial for both UCOL and the hospital, as the largest healthcare employer in the region.

“The benefits of this new initiative is wide-reaching, both for the students, as they transition to becoming registered nurses, and also for the patients that they care for. I can be reassured that when employed with us, UCOL graduates have achieved the CORE qualification and have both the skills and knowledge to effectively manage a deteriorating patient.”

CORE sessions will be delivered to all third-year nursing ākonga in Manawatū by the end of this semester, with sessions being planned for ākonga in Whanganui and Wairarapa campuses, which will be completed just before ākonga undertake clinical experience.

“It’s not just our ākonga and their careers that win though,” adds Malone. “It’s also beneficial for our local communities. Every year in New Zealand more than 2,000 people will have a cardiac arrest in the community - their home, workplace, local supermarket, essentially anywhere outside of a hospital.

“For every minute without CPR or defibrillation, a patient’s chance of survival falls by 10-15 percent. Having such well-trained people in our community could truly save lives.”

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