Nursing Students at Lithgow celebrate end of their first year

The following piece was first published by the Lithgow Mercury Monday 24th October 2016

Class Cohort: Western Lithgow nursing students with campus coordinator for Nursing Christine Haley. Photo by Jacob Gillard.

It was cause for celebration on Wednesday as Bachelor of Nursing students at Western Sydney University (Western) The College's Lithgow campus finished their first year of studying nursing.

The first Bachelor course to be taught at Lithgow's campus, this group of students will now be heading to different Western campuses to complete their study from next year.

Despite most of them now heading separate ways, the group marked the day with a celebratory lunch for all their efforts.

Sarah Gausden, one of the nursing students who hails from Lithgow, decided it was time to go for something different after working in aged care for a few years.

"Other than that… I come from a nursing family," Ms Gausden said.

"My mother is a nurse and so is my sister, it sort of seemed logical."

For Sarah, getting into work as a theatre nurse is something she's interested in pursuing.

For her, the small class size and with the campus so close to home, she felt like she was treated as a person and not a number.

"In here, we're really like a small family."

Campus Coordinator for Nursing Christine Haley said she had taught nursing in an academic capacity for 25 years and said Westerns's course had a strong clinical base.

"These students learn foundational clinical skills in their first year, which make them easily employable," Ms Haley said.

To find out more about the Bachelor of Nursing at the Lithgow Campus please contact The College on 6354 4511.