Athlone IT teams win first and second place in HSA Health and Safety in Healthcare Competition
Friday 12th April 2013
Teams of students from Athlone IT have won first and second place in the Health and Safety Authority’s first ‘Occupational Safety and Health in Healthcare’ competition aimed at nursing undergraduates across Higher Education. At the final team interviews held in Dublin, finalist teams battled it out to win first prize - Apple iPADs. The winning team was captained by third year student Leanne Murphy. The second placed team, also from Athlone IT, was captained by third year student Aine O’Reilly and won a prize of €600. Third place was taken by Dundalk IT, captained by Grainne Miggin, taking home €300.
The aim of the competition is to provide an environment where undergraduate students can collaborate and work together to enhance, develop and embed their knowledge and understanding of occupational health and safety in a healthcare setting. The competition involved posing a real life scenario using problem-based learning which undergraduate nurses had to address and make a submission to the Authority on.
Dr. Anne Drummond, Chairperson of the Authority’s Third Level Education Group said, “All nursing professionals need to have a sound understanding of occupational health and safety and be able to apply this knowledge in their everyday working life. A safe working environment facilitates nursing professionals to provide optimum care which benefits both patient and carer.”
Joanne Harmon, Education Manager with the Health and Safety Authority said, “The approach to the competition is based on problem-based learning which resembles professional life far more than many more traditional methods of assessment. Feedback from students and their lecturers is that the engagement of working together with their colleagues on the competition is a rewarding and enjoyable part of their learning.”
The judging panel was made up of the following members: Chairperson: Sheena Notley (Healthcare Policy Inspector, HSA), Norma Sheehan (Director of Nursing, St. Joseph’s Centre, Shankill, Co. Dublin) and David Maher (Institute of Occupational Safety and Health).
