Styria needs new nursing staff, this is known outside the industry. From April, four new student nurses will be trained at LKH Graz II on an experimental basis. You learn directly in the hospital – a training model that never existed in Austria.
“As a child I wanted to go into healthcare. On the one hand because I like working with people and on the other hand because my sister is also in healthcare,” says Lara Reisinger. The 15-year-old Styrian is one of four students who will take part in the new nursing pilot project in Graz in April. A new phase of her life now begins for her: a three-year internship under the supervision of qualified nurses at LKH Graz II. During the application procedure, she won against 49 applicants – mainly young women.
It is an attempt to combat the major shortage of nursing staff in Styria. Because at Kages alone, 200 of the 9,000 foster care places are unfilled. Kages CEO Gerhard Stark calculates that 5,000 to 6,000 additional nursing staff will be needed annually throughout Austria. Previous measures, such as raising salaries by ten percent and recruiting staff from Colombia and Tunisia, had brought relief, but not a lasting sigh of relief.
The curriculum should be developed gradually
So four additional employees within three years should help? “We will soon continue to improve the situation,” says Eveline Brandstätter, nursing director at LKH Graz II. The new nursing education is a process in which people want to learn and further develop the curriculum based on new experiences.
“We want to introduce young people to this meaningful profession in a careful manner. Because preparation for patient work is very important,” says Brandstätter. Month after month, the students are guided through the different application areas of the profession, but working on patients is only permitted from the age of 17. Until then, we practice in so-called simulation rooms.
The associated vocational school should be completed in Bad Radkersburg – all according to the dual training program after compulsory education. Unlike studying, young people can start practicing earlier and do not have to wait until they graduate. An internship with a high school diploma should also be possible. At the end, the students hold the title of “nursing assistant” in their hands. With an extra year of work you can even become a ‘nursing assistant’.
State Council for Health Karlheinz Kornhäusl (ÖVP) calls the pilot project an “additional piece of the mosaic” in the field of nursing education. This puts Styria in a good position compared to Austria – and in the hospital sector Graz is now the great pioneer thanks to the new nursing theory.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
