As part of the celebration of the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, Flinders University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences has initiated a website project to document a living history of nursing education at the University, a pioneer in nursing education in South Australia.

In 1975 work began on the ground-breaking nursing curriculum at Sturt College of Advanced Education, Bedford Park which later merged with Flinders University. This was the first tertiary institution in South Australia and the third in Australia to offer such a program, designed to prepare students of nursing to obtain an undergraduate Diploma.

Since the initiation of this program nursing education, and more latterly midwifery, has continued to this day offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses including Research Masters and PhDs, graduating more than 16,600 students in the past 44 years.

The project will provide a living history of the University’s contribution to nursing and midwifery in South Australia, capturing how professional training continues to adapt to the changing needs of the community and the values that underpin care. We will collect and share stories from alumni, students and staff that celebrate the diverse and changing role of the profession in global healthcare.

We encourage our alumni and former staff members to get involved in the project.

If you have a story to share for our Year of the Nurse and Midwife alumni stories page, or papers or photos of historical interest, please contact the College’s Alumni Partner Jane Russell via: nursingmidwiferyhistory@flinders.edu.au or call during office hours on (08) 7421 9758.