University of Tasmania, Australia

Welcome to the website of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre's Teaching Aged Care Facilities Program. The first wave of this innovative program involves a partnership with two Tasmanian residential aged care facilities - Masonic Peace Haven in Launceston and Queen Victoria Homes in Lindisfarne.

In semester 2 2011, students were on placement for between one and three weeks. Ten 2nd year nursing and six 1st year nursing students were placed at both facilities, eleven 2nd year paramedic students were placed at the Queen Victoria Home and ten paramedic students at Peace Memorial Haven. Twenty 5th year medical students were placed at Peace Memorial Haven. The project team is currently analysing the data that were collected from students and the facility staff over the course of these placements, to identify the drivers and inhibitors of quality teaching and learning in a residential aged care facility context. In semester 1 2012 year, the plan is to place ten 2nd year nursing students and up to twenty-eight 5th year medical students at each facility.

The Program consortium is led by the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and includes:

• UTAS School of Nursing and Midwifery
• UTAS School of Medicine
• Australian Pacific Leadership Group, and
• Australian Catholic University

Three aims:

1. To provide University of Tasmania students with a positive placement experience to develop a more positive attitude to working in aged care
   
   
2. To build organisational and leadership capability within aged care facilities to both support students’ professional education and drive a high performance culture across the organisation
   
   
3. To create an organisational environment conducive to establishing a teaching aged care facility