From January 28th to 30th, the 2023-2024 Guangdong Provincial Vocational College Students' Professional Skills Competition in Healthcare for the Elderly was successfully held at SZPU. The event, sponsored by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education and organized by SZPU's School of Nursing and Health, attracted participants from 25 vocational colleges across the province. After intense competition, Yue Zhuojing, a student from the Class of 2023 majoring in Smart Health and Elderly Care Services and Management at SZPU's School of Nursing and Health, won the first prize, securing a place in the national competition for 2024.

Competition Venue

This competition was guided by the standards of the 2023 National Vocational College Skills Competition in Healthcare for the Elderly, as well as the technical documents of the WorldSkills Competition concerning professional knowledge and technical skills in healthcare for the elderly. It was also aligned with professional skill standards for related job positions. The competition focused on evaluating contestants in six key areas: work organization and management, communication and interaction, problem-solving, needs assessment and care planning, practical care, and evaluation and improvement.

Over two days, contestants from 25 vocational colleges across the province demonstrated their skills in elderly care scenarios such as home care, community services, and integrated medical and nursing institutions. They provided professional and standardized care services to the elderly using new smart health and care equipment and measures, based on case assessments, planning, implementation, and reflection. Participants also produced care plans, health education posters, and reflective reports.

This competition not only provided a valuable platform for showcasing talents, technical exchange, and experience sharing in the training of elderly service technical skills talent for higher vocational colleges in Guangdong but also offered effective reference standards for the construction of health and elderly care-related majors, curriculum development, and talent training. It has selected and reserved excellent reserve talents for national and WorldSkills Competitions, promoting the improvement and innovation of healthcare and elderly care technical skills. Furthermore, this competition injected new vitality into the high-quality development and high-level construction of the elderly service system in Guangdong Province during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

It's understood that SZPU launched the Smart Health and Elderly Care Services and Management program in 2020, aiming to train highly skilled professionals capable of care service technology, institutional operation management, and product marketing and maintenance, meeting the demands of the smart health and elderly care industry. The precise alignment of student internships and employment opportunities with leading healthcare enterprises in Shenzhen, such as China Resources, Vanke, China Merchants, and Shum Yip, contributes new strength to the high-quality development of Shenzhen's healthcare industry.

(School of Nursing and Health, Liu Rui Jin Xiao)