UTAS students take the pulse of AGFEST
Chloe Bonney

Chloe Bonney
Posted on 25 August, 2022

UTAS students take the pulse of AGFEST

Passionate about providing access to medical care in regional areas UTAS students are taking a hands-on approach, offering free blood pressure readings and discussing common health issues with patrons.

Since 2012 UTAS has run a medical pavilion separate to the University's recruitment tent, with a focus on engaging the public with conversations about their health that goes beyond the initial blood pressure reading.

Engaging with the public allowing students a taste of life after university and teaching the students to care for people, not just their symptoms.

“It’s important for students to be able to meet the public and practice having discussions about health-related behaviours, like smoking”, says Senior lecturer of the Launceston Clinical School Kath Ogden.

As valuable as the experience is for the UTAS students preparing to graduate, for third year nursing student Alysha Jackson the event is about more than getting the chance to practice in a real-world scenario.

“Some people living in rural areas don’t have regular access to a GP so being able to have their blood pressure checked at AGFEST might be their only opportunity this year.”

With heart disease currently ranked as the number one killer in Australia, the need to be on top of health checks is as crucial. Blood pressure should be checked regularly as high blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular disease if left unchecked, so stop procrastinating up and head over to the UTAS students located at S25.

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