Professional Development >> Advanced Skills Support

Professional Development

Advanced Skills Support Program

Make the transition to independent procedural practice with the help of our Advanced Skills Support Program at Rural Health West.

 

Designed to enhance your procedural skills in rural settings, this program provides a comprehensive pathway towards success. We place a strong emphasis on CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training at Rural Health West, assisting you to stay at the forefront of your profession. As active participants in the Rural Health Partnership Initiative, we are committed to improving healthcare delivery in remote Western Australia through collaboration. The Advanced Skills Support Program offers tailored mentoring and upskilling opportunities, all designed to help you meet your community’s healthcare needs. Our team are dedicated to empowering you with the resources and support needed to flourish in rural WA’s unique healthcare landscape.

Learn more about the Advanced Skills Support Program

CPD Training

CPD training is fundamental to the Advanced Skills Support Program at Rural Health West. Our training is designed to keep you at the foreground of medical practice in rural WA. By participating in CPD training, practitioners gain valuable knowledge and skills necessary for delivering exceptional patient care. This ensures you are well-equipped to meet the diverse and evolving needs of rural communities. With CPD training, we can improve health outcomes across Western Australia.

The Rural Health Partnership Initiative

The Rural Health Partnership Initiative is a coordinated, targeted response to address the challenges faced by health professionals across Western Australia. It is a partnership between the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) and Rural Health West. It gives health professionals access to relevant ongoing education and training, as well as professional mentoring. This ensures health professionals are well supported to live and work across rural WA.

The Advanced Skills Support Program at Rural Health West

The Advanced Skills Support Program offers funding to support active mentoring, professional support in skills proficiency, and identification of development and diversification opportunities for newly qualified and experienced clinical practitioners. These practitioners live and practice clinically in vulnerable procedural areas across rural and remote Western Australia.

The program assists in supporting those with advanced skills in Obstetrics, Anaesthetics and Emergency Medicine to enable them to commence or continue to practise independently in a rural location.

The funding support available includes but is not limited to:

  • Mentoring – Practitioners are linked with an experienced mentor for up to 12 months. Eligibility includes those who have recently obtained their advanced skills, providing that the graduate will be working in a rural location in Western Australia where the workforce is vulnerable and there is provision to work at a regional WACHS hospital.
  • Immersion – Funding is provided for trainees to experience a one- or two-week rural immersion in a rural location. Eligibility includes doctors who are completing their advanced skills training and, at the completion of their training plan, will work in a rural location where the workforce is vulnerable and there is provision to work at a regional WACHS hospital.
  • Upskilling – Funding is available for trainees to undertake education courses and workshops, covering travel and accommodation expenses. Eligibility includes those who have attained their advanced skills and require support and upskilling in order to continue to practice in a location where the workforce is vulnerable.
  • Clinical Visits – Procedural rural GPs can request a one-day visit from an experienced practitioner.

Please note: Those who are solely employed by WA Country Health Service are ineligible.

For more information, please email the Procedural Programs Coordinator through [email protected] or call 08 6389 4500.

This program has been invaluable in increasing my level of skills and confidence in independently practising anaesthetics as a GP Anaesthetist.

My mentor has been very accommodating, and has kindly offered to continue to support me remotely with advice on an ongoing basis.

Dr Trent Wilson, GP Anaesthetics mentoring participant, 2022

For my part, being a new registrar is an extremely expensive activity, and you don’t yet qualify for other funding grants, so having funds to put towards courses and upskilling placements has been very important. The funding available through the mentoring program has meant that I’ve now been able to secure bookings for all of the important first-year credentialing requirements.

I was nervous about beginning to practice outside the tertiary environment, without specialist backup, and it’s been very comforting to have someone to go to and learn the logistics of practicing in a whole new environment, as well as within a whole new paradigm. Having this program allowed me to find my footing and contribute to the workforce – otherwise I’m not sure I would have actually started practising.

Dr Heidi Tudehope, GP Obstetrics mentoring participant, 2022

Expression of Interest

Please complete the form below to express your interest in the Advanced Skills Support Program.

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