1 March 2019

Last week 16 health care practitioners travelled from all over the NSW North Coast to TAFE NSW Port Macquarie to celebrate the near-completion of their Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Care Practice.

Once they fulfil the remaining 300 workplace clinical hours of the 18-month course they will be the first-ever student cohort in the NSW North Coast to graduate with the nationally-recognised qualification.

The students – all of whom already work as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) health practitioners and identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – completed their sixth and final block of the course’s theory component last week. The big milestone was celebrated with a dinner at The Mercure restaurant.

TAFE NSW Manager Service Delivery Aboriginal Health, Daniel Morrison, said everyone was delighted to finish the face-to-face training blocks, each of which they travelled to TAFE NSW Port Macquarie to undertake.

“I am really proud of my students for achieving such a momentous milestone. I know they will be valuable community members with the skills and knowledge they’ve gained over the past 12 months,” he said

“The TAFE NSW Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Care Practice empowers practitioners to offer streamlined care to patients, upskilling them to provide professional practice work in a clinical setting. The overarching goal is to improve health outcomes for our communities and families.

“Our cohort received participation certificates at the Port Macquarie celebration dinner and are looking forward to a course completion certificate once they hand in their workplace books in the coming weeks.

“It’s been a real pleasure to watch these practitioners develop over time and I wish them all the best.”

TAFE NSW partners with the Aboriginal Medical Service and several Local Area Health Districts to support and service qualifications that upskill the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care workforce.

This first cohort of Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Care Practice students on the NSW North Coast travel from hometowns as far south as the Central Coast and Lismore in the north. They have already completed 500+ clinical hours in their workplaces to fulfil the hands-on, practical training the qualification requires.

For more detail on TAFE NSW courses, face-to-face or online, visit www.tafensw.com.au or call 131 601.

Media contact: Kristy Sheppard, TAFE NSW Media & Communications Business Partner, 4923 7784 or 0407 450 860.