Sonam: Hi I'm Sonam and I'm from Bhutan and I'm here with my patient Angela.
[To mannequin] Hi Angela, I'm just going to be your nurse today.
This is a simulated Hospital of the Queensland University of Technology where I studied to become a nurse.

I came to study in Australia in my last year of high school. 
So I studied in Holland Park State High School it felt really like a family because I've never been in a school that is less than a thousand students. Not too many students so you get a one-on-one experience with the teachers.
It was really easy to transition from high school to University because they kept on preparing us throughout the whole Year 12 that they had seminars they had different universities come and gave lectures to us about how University life is.

Leaving the elevator: A university for the real world!

Whilst I was a student here in QUT, I actually loved almost everything about being on campus.

The vibe of the university is definitely welcoming. The greenery is amazing as well, it makes you feel relaxed and calm. The campus is close to the city.

I settled on nursing because you feel like you're contributing to society by being a nurse just helping people out I guess.

Joanne: We're here today we've got Angela Dempsey as our case, and we'll be working through doing some drug doses. I'm Jo Ramsbotham, I'm the course coordinator here at QUT School of Nursing.
This is our new simulation lab, it's really expanded the options we have for students to learn skills and to interact with mannequin patients. We have real, well simulated, but real IV fluids running they prepare and give real drugs. They're all developing the skills that they need so that when they go into the very busy Health Sector they're ready to go forward with a real person, under the supervision of a registered nurse of course.


Sonam: When I first saw the Clinical Simulation it was actually very intimidating because it actually looks exactly like a hospital setting, it feels so lifelike so you just prick their fingers and you can take their blood you can actually hear their heartbeat, they talk, they breathe as well!

Joanne: We have high fidelity labs where the mannequins are electronic; they have a blood pressure and a pulse, we then have a area with a one-way mirror where we can voice the patient. Students are always thinking through I'm dealing with a person I'm not just focusing on this little skill.
Most of every week, all day, each day we have labs open and all set up for students to come in and practice in their own time so I think that's a huge advantage.
The peer-to-peer learning is really strong and I think that's the strength here at QUT and learning from others really starts that entry to the profession.

Sonam: When I graduated from University they were looking for nurses in Mount Isa and the opportunity was amazing because it was the Outback and I've always wanted to travel to Outback Australia. I'm a Renal Outreach Dialysis nurse. I go to every rural areas of North Queensland and provide dialysis to the patients. When I was a student in QUT I did a course called Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders health and well-being and that was very relevant to what I am doingÊÊright now currently as a nurse because almost 99 percent of my patients are Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander so it helped me become more empathetic.

Joanne: Nurses form 70 percent of the healthcare workforce and there's such a variety of places you can work as a nurse - we're seeing growth of nursing roles in
Industry now, in community-based options but in non-traditional options like cruise ships so if you take on nursing and profession you'll never be unemployed.

Sonam: I have very lofty goals, for my future as a nurse but later down the track I want to try everything and anything - hopefully emergency nursing,
ICU nursing, theater nursing, and long term; maybe travel nursing, travel Australia the rest of Australia. Nursing has definitely opened up the world for me!