WACTN UPDATEThe Commonwealth Department of Health has indicated its intention of extending the funding agreement for the Integrated Regional Clinical Training Networks, Simulated Learning Education leads and Clinical Supervision Support Program leads to December 2015. Details are still to be confirmed. The WACTN will pass on any information about other funding agreements if they become available.

Thank you for being a part of the WACTN this year, we are looking forward to continuing working with you in 2015 and wish everyone a safe and enjoyable festive season. We hope you enjoy this final edition of CTN News for the year with its strong focus on training and initiatives in rural areas.

CLINICAL SUPERVISORSRECOGNISED IN RECENT AWARDS

Rotary Allied Health Award Winners from WACHS.

Members of the collaborative team that won the Excellence in Clinical Training award.

Communities of Interest

NEWSCOI visits Geraldton In collaboration with the Midwest Health Education and Training Alliance (MHETA), the third WACTN networking event for 2014 was held in Geraldton on 26 September. MHETA is a strategic alliance of key professional and vocational entry student education providers and health service delivery organisations. It aims to maximise access to high-quality health education resources in the Midwest and to build local capacity to deliver innovative, evidence-based education, training and development programs. Presentations emphasised the value of collaborative approaches in the Midwest, with examples of clinical placements that are strengthening the rural health workforce also showcased. Participants had the opportunity to network with MHETA members and presenters from a range of local health care services and education facilities.

Congratulations to MHETA for hosting such a successful event!

Exploring interprofessional practice opportunitiesThe second of the COI-initiated projects is currently underway, with completion anticipated by the end of the year. This project aims to explore clinical placement opportunities that could meet the requirements of an interprofessional practice experience. Representatives from health service teams and clinics recognised as providing a level of interprofessional practice have been interviewed to gather specific qualitative information. This will be used to identify opportunities and potential barriers to embedding interprofessional learning placements in current services. In particular, the interviews have explored where guidelines or standards may be needed to help determine when and how a health-based clinical placement can contribute to a student’s interprofessional learning. Ideally, these guidelines would assist health professionals to recognise interprofessional practice placement opportunities that could be offered within planned clinical placements.Project officer Kendra Bell-Hayes is undertaking this project in collaboration with a working group of COI members – Sue Alexander, Jenny O’Callaghan, Melinda Misson and Terrie Simpson.

Care Team, who won the Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring category award at the Rotary Allied Health Awards in October. The team has been running an interprofessional learning student program since 2012 in addition to providing their usual service of holistic, client-centred care for clients with complex care needs. All other category winners are listed here.

Congratulations to the Geraldton Sub-Acute won the Excellence in Clinical Training Category at the 2014 WA Health Excellence Awards – South Metropolitan Health Service, Nursing and Midwifery in conjunction with Curtin University, the University of WA, the University of Notre Dame, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, Challenger Institute of Technology, Central Institute of Technology and West Coast Institute. Other category winners are listed here.

Congratulations also to the collaborative team that

Contact usWA Clinical Training NetworkLevel 1, B Block189 Royal StreetEAST PERTH WA 6004Web: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/wactnEmail: wactn@health.wa.gov.auTelephone: (08) 9222 2166 or (08) 9222 2278

Member Profile: Marie Baxter, WACHSMarie Baxter is the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services for WA Country Health Services (WACHS). Trained as a nurse in the UK, she has lived in Western Australia for the past 20 years, working in major metropolitan hospitals and at the South Metropolitan Health Service before joining the country team three years ago. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University.

As the WACHS representative on the WACTN’s governance committee, Marie brings the perspectives of many different services and disciplines to the table: WACHS is geographically the largest area health service in the country, overseeing seven regions across some 2.5 million square kilometres. Health services range from public hospitals in large regional areas to community health centres and nursing posts in small, remote communities.

While placements across such a large and diverse area obviously raise some serious logistical challenges, she says she is continually impressed by the ‘can do’ attitude of service providers in the country.“Most students who elect to undertake a country placement are happy and willing to work in a remote area and most facilities are willing and keen to take undergraduate students of all health disciplines,” she explains. “Accommodation is always an issue, but we look to where students can share accommodation to minimise costs and increase the number of places available. “The real challenge is finding the right facility and locality for the students that will cover the area of service provision they need to gain experience in. This is changing frequently as curriculums continue to advance and evolve and facilities align to the clinical services framework and the national health reform agendas.”Marie is confident, however, that country service providers can adapt to changing

placement demands and in fact use them to think outside the box.“We are seeing gaps in all health disciplines in regards to our future workforce requirements, but I think we are experiencing the greatest challenges in regard to primary health care and chronic disease management.“This could open up new placement opportunities in primary health clinics and non-government services that have not historically been accessible.”Marie says the expansion of clinical supervision education programs into regional areas will also help support the quality and relevance of country placements.

Rural placements fund continuesThe WACTN Governance Committee has approved funding for the Rural Student Placement Travel Support program for 2015. The program, previously run through WA Country Health Service, assists allied health students with travel costs to undertake rural clinical placements in Western Australia. Ultimately, it aims to help address the ongoing shortage of health professionals in country areas by increasing the likelihood a student will return to a rural area for professional practice.

In 2015, the travel support scholarship will undergo a few changes, including the expansion to non-WACHS placements. Details of the program are currently being finalised and will be released soon.

Cultural safety training on offerThe WACTN is offering one-day cultural safety training, delivered by the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia as part of a Local Innovation Fund project. Training has already occurred in Geraldton and Broome and will be running in Kalgoorlie on 12 March 2015. This training is free and available to health professionals who currently (or soon will) provide clinical supervision or support for the clinical placements of Aboriginal Health Work students.To register your interest in attending, email watcn@health.wa.gov.au

Clinical supervisiontraining is hitting the markAs part of the Australian Government’s National Clinical Skills Initiative, the WACTN has facilitated the delivery of clinical supervisor training in Perth and in regional centres across Western Australia. This has been very well received to date, with foundational and intermediate level training accessed by more than 200 clinical supervisors.Participants have come from a broad range of professions, employment sectors and work settings – acute care, aged care, community health, disability services, mental health and primary care – and from a range of allied health, medicine and nursing backgrounds. Feedback indicates that attendees have enjoyed the mix of disciplines and clinical settings represented at the training, allowing them to learn and benefit from the different perspectives shared by their health colleagues. ”I really feel that the course is so beneficial and hope that more health care professionals can attend in the future,” noted one participant. “It was also a great opportunity to network with a great bunch of professionals from many disciplines.”Feedback from facilitators is consistent with these comments, highlighting that clinicians clearly value

the interactive nature of the sessions. “In particular, the interprofessional mix has been welcomed, allowing better understanding of the challenges supervisors from the different professions face, but also allowing supervisors to realise ideas from completely different environments can be useful in their own area,” commented one facilitator. There are still training places available this year in some of the regional centres. More foundational and intermediate level training will be available again in both metropolitan and some regional areas early next year.For more details, visit the resources tab on the WACTN webpage. Any enquiries about the skills initiative training should be directed to Martin FitzSimons on (08) 9222 4393 or Martin.FitzSimons@health.wa.gov.au

Participants engage in a role-play at a one-day intermediate level workshop, with trainer Fiona Lake.