ACU and Skybox Health today announced a partnership to develop a cutting-edge software platform aimed at aligning nursing education with digital health transformation in healthcare practice.
The partnership brings together clinical, research, academic and technological expertise to develop software that combines digital documentation of patient care with realistic simulation of complex, unfolding patient cases.
ACU Vice Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis said the collaboration will address complex challenges to human flourishing.
"This partnership is crucial for providing our health professional students with realistic and effective digital health education, developing workforce capacity and capability solutions in national areas of critical need," Professor Skrbis said.
"Our vision is to engage in mission-aligned programs of work that benefit Australia and its people."
ACU Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Professor Suzanne Chambers AO said the collaboration will address a crucial gap in undergraduate pre-registration education at ACU and health professional degree programs nationwide.
"It provides exciting opportunities for both education and research, while also advancing our rapidly expanding presence in digital health across undergraduate and postgraduate education, research and industry partnerships," Professor Chambers said.
Digital transformation in healthcare requires a significant shift in how future health professionals are educated, ACU's Associate Dean of Learning, Teaching and Professional Experience for the Faculty of Health Sciences, Associate Professor Stephen Guinea said.
"We are delighted to be working with Skybox Heath to co-design software that both prepares nursing, midwifery and allied health students for modern healthcare environments and supports the advancement of healthcare practice," he said.
Philippa Gent, qualified nurse, paramedic and co-founder of Skybox Health, echoed the importance of a shift in education.
"Over the past few years, we've seen growing impetus to enhance curricula to not only reflect the evolving clinical landscape but to meet the changing course accreditation requirements surrounding digital capabilities," she said.
Skybox co-founder Rhiannon Phillips said she was thrilled to be working with ACU, Australia's leading provider of nursing education.
"This is an important partnership to accelerate the development and commercialisation of software that stands to transform the future of digital health training in Australia," she said.
About Australian Catholic University
An ACU education is grounded in the Catholic understanding of faith and reason working together in the pursuit of knowledge, promotion of human dignity, and advancement of the common good.
ACU aims to transform lives and communities. Students are challenged to look beyond the classroom, solve real-world problems, develop their own search for meaning and cultivate strong professional ethics. They are invited to stand up for people in need and causes that matter.
Staff and students are committed to improving the lives of others by providing world-leading health care. High-impact research – with social, cultural and economic benefits – is core to our institution.
In the Faculty of Health Sciences, we are guided by evidence and the values of excellence, dignity and engagement. ACU graduates are equipped not only with the knowledge and skills to provide outstanding care, but also the compassion and empathy to provide care that people remember.
