When Project Check Mate launched in Decem­ber 2022 with pop-up clin­ics at region­al South Aus­tralian events, the Rose­mary Bryant Research Cen­tre team at the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Aus­tralia had ambi­tious hopes but mod­est expec­ta­tions. The pilot, fund­ed by The Hos­pi­tal Research Foun­da­tion Group and sup­port­ed by Skin Check Cham­pi­ons, aimed to address a crit­i­cal gap: with skin can­cer rates 30 per cent high­er in region­al areas, and only 550 der­ma­tol­o­gists serv­ing the entire country. 

What began as train­ing nurs­es for screen­ings at region­al com­mu­ni­ty events has trans­formed into the 600 Nurs­es Project – a nation­al ini­tia­tive demon­strat­ing how tar­get­ed pilots can cre­ate last­ing change. 

Build­ing on ear­ly success 

The orig­i­nal approach proved its worth quick­ly. At pop-up clin­ics like the Opal Fes­ti­val in Coober Pedy and Clare Val­ley SGA Gourmet Week, trained nurs­es effec­tive­ly used der­moscopy equip­ment to cap­ture dig­i­tal images for GP and der­ma­tol­o­gist review. The mod­el worked: demon­strat­ing acces­si­ble nurse-led skin checks with clin­i­cal over­sight through estab­lished refer­ral pathways. 

“The pilot showed us that nurs­es were not just capa­ble of this work – they were embrac­ing it,” says Pro­fes­sor Mar­i­on Eck­ert, Direc­tor of the Rose­mary Bryant Research Centre. 

Scal­ing beyond pop-ups 

Australia’s 1,400 annu­al melanoma deaths, dis­pro­por­tion­ate­ly affect­ing rur­al com­mu­ni­ties, demand­ed a response beyond occa­sion­al fes­ti­val screen­ings. The 600 Nurs­es Project rep­re­sents this scaled vision – train­ing pri­ma­ry care nurs­es across region­al Aus­tralia in der­moscopy and AI-assist­ed skin can­cer detec­tion with­in exist­ing health­care infrastructure.

The evo­lu­tion from pop-up clin­ics to per­ma­nent prac­tice address­es a key lim­i­ta­tion: mov­ing from one-time screen­ing events to con­tin­u­ous care. A cor­ner­stone of this expan­sion is the new­ly launched Pro­fes­sion­al Cer­tifi­cate in Clin­i­cal Der­moscopy by the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Aus­tralia. This 13-week course equips nurs­es with advanced der­moscopy skills, lesion imag­ing, AI-sup­port­ed assess­ment and refer­ral path­ways through online learn­ing and hands-on clin­i­cal experience. 

Proven impact

The num­bers are com­pelling: over 50 nurs­es trained, more than 1,200 peo­ple screened, and 485 sus­pi­cious lesions detect­ed. More impor­tant­ly, the pro­gram demon­strates that nurse-led skin can­cer detec­tion is not just viable but pre­ferred by many communities. 

As one Port Lin­coln nurse prac­ti­tion­er notes, ​“Appoint­ments are offered more read­i­ly than GP-only clin­ics. Where sus­pi­cious lesions are detect­ed, I can esca­late prompt­ly to our GPs for review and management.” 

The trans­for­ma­tion from Project Check Mate to the 600 Nurs­es Project illus­trates how thought­ful pilots can evolve into sys­temic change, build­ing rur­al and remote health­care capac­i­ty while main­tain­ing the col­lab­o­ra­tive spir­it that made the orig­i­nal project successful.