HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE NORTHERN TERRITORY DELIVERED IN THE TERRITORY

Prof Dianne  Stephens OAM¹, Dr Mardi Steere², Mr Paul Bell¹, Ms Nadine Tipping³, Ms Penelope  James³

¹CDU Menzies School of Medicine, Australia, ²RFDS SA/Central, Australia, ³Charles Darwin University

It has long been a dream in The Top End that a suite of higher education health courses be available and delivered in “The Territory by Territorians.”  Charles Darwin University (CDU) and The National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) have made this dream a reality. Through partnership CDU/NCCTRC has designed, and has been delivering since 2021, the Graduate Certificate and Master of Aeromedical Retrieval. This presentation articulates the roadmap from conception and into the future.

The concept of starting a Higher Education Course is a formidable one. In 2019 CDU engaged into a partnership with the NCCTRC and submitted a business case to the CDU Academic Board for a Graduate Certificate and Master of Aeromedical Retrieval sponsored through the CDU College of Nursing and Midwifery through 2019-21. The post graduate course is now the flagship course of the newly formed CDU Menzies School of Medicine.

This presentation will explore:

1. Finding a pathway through academia for the uninitiated
2. Forming strategic partnerships – CDU, NCCTRC, Careflight NT, RFDS SA/Central
3. Leadership in bringing a team together
4. What’s in a name: The CDU Menzies School of Medicine
5. The long-term benefits of post graduate education for Territorian to be delivered by Territorians
6. Into the future – CDU/NCCTRC
7. The long game – Indo-Pacific “Soft Diplomacy”

Conclusion

This presentation is about the lived experience of a small team of clinicians immersing themselves into the world of Academia and sharing that journey with the ASA and FNA audience.

Biography:

Paul Bell is a Critical Care Nurse and Midwife who is the Clinical Coordinator for the Charles Darwin University Menzies School of Medicine Aeromedical Retrieval Post Graduate Courses. He has worked as a Critical Care Nurse, Single Nurse Practitioner, Flight Nurse and Midwife across Australia. Paul has also served in both the Reserve and Regular Army. He helped establish the 1^st Close Health Battalion AME capability when he was the Aeromedical Retrieval Platoon Commander in 2012-15. He has served with the US Marines at the ISAF Role 3 ICU in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is currently a Nursing Officer in the Regular Army and on staff at the CDU Menzies School of Medicine. Paul was the force behind establishing the CDU Aeromedical Retrieval Post Graduate Courses. He is passionate about education aimed at improving health outcomes for both the military and civilian sectors through innovative and multidisciplinary approaches.