Nursing students ready to serve the community

Ten students from The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Broome Campus will complete the final practical placement of their nursing degree during November and December. The third year students will represent the University in towns and cities throughout Western Australia including hospitals in Joondalup, Geraldton, Broome and Kununurra. Three students will also spend time working with the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Port Hedland and Derby. There will also be a student located in the remote communities of Balgo, Mulan and Billiluna. A farewell ritual was celebrated recently to bless the students with oil, a sign of strengthening for the rigours of their professional lives. The Blessing of the Hands conducted by the Campus Minister Sr Jill O’Brien sgs is a traditional Broome Campus event held prior to the students’ final practical placements. This blessing acknowledges the significance of the healing hands of the nurse. Fellow students, lecturers and friends gathered in the Campus library gallery to participate in the ceremony that included words of praise and challenge from Deputy Vice Chancellor, Broome, Sr Sonia Wagner sgs. During the ceremony students spoke of the friendships they had made and acknowledged how the personal approach of the Notre Dame staff had made a difference to their education. Media contact: Mike Doyle 08 9192 066