RHCE - Rural Health Continuing Education Program

RHCE Rural Health Continuing Education Program Stream One

Current RHCE Funded Projects

The Rural Health Continuing Education (RHCE) program awards grants to develop and deliver Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities for specialist and/ or multi disciplinary teams. RHCE funds are available to rural specialists via their Specialist Medical Colleges.
We are pleased to announce that the RACP has been successful in receiving funding for three projects under the 'Rural Health Continuing Education Sub-Program (RHCE)' stream one, which is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing.
 

1. Australian Aboriginal Child Health modules

 Project Type: eLearning Modules

Project Duration: 2 years

Modules Launch at College Congress, Brisbane Convention Centre

Date: Wednesday 9 May 2012
Time: 1pm (during lunch)
Location: RACP College booth in the Exhibition Hall, Brisbane Convention Centre

RACP Continuing Professional Development (CPD) information
 

The Australian Aboriginal Child Health modules can be used to gain RACP CPD points.

Category: Self Assessment Program, Category 3
Credits: 2 per hour.
Further information on the RACP CPD program

This course has been developed in response to the need for improved cultural awareness in health care delivery and in understanding the role of cultural and socio-economic determinants in health outcomes. This project will consist of two phases:

Phase 1 of the project aims to develop a 2-module course to introduce:

• Module 1: Cultural awareness relating to Aboriginal families and communities, with examples from the Fitzroy Valley, Kimberley WA;
• Module 2: The social determinants of Aboriginal child health - past, present and future - using North American and Australian examples;

Online forums will be run over a 3 week period and facilitated by an Aboriginal Health Worker and/or Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services Officer and a Medical Expert. Phase 1 will go live 9 May 2012.

Phase 2 of the project aims to update the modules from phase 1 and develop 2 additional modules for the course to introduce:

• Module 3: The spectrum of common illnesses in Aboriginal children in remote and urban settings (including ear, skin, and eye infections, anaemia, bronchiectasis, rheumatic heart disease and post-infectious glomerulonephritis);
• Module 4: Developmental problems, including Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and the effects of early life trauma (adverse social, nutritional and emotional experiences) on development.

Online forums will be run over a 6.5 week period and facilitated by an Aboriginal Health Worker and/or Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services Officer and a Medical Expert. Phase 2 will go live 6 August 2012.

The online modules will include video and audio footage. They are designed to be case-based and interactive including a question-answer format, with links to relevant clinical images and guidelines.

The project lead, Dr Megan Phelps, is working with the project team comprising Dr James Fitzpatrick, Associate Professor Elizabeth Elliott, Dr. Anne Morris and Dr Hasantha Gunasekera, to gather content. The project team is supported by the eLearning Design & Development Unit at the College in developing the resource online.

For more information on the project or the launch, please contact: Jamie.Owen@racp.edu.au.
 

2. Rural Outcome Measurement Enhancement (ROME) Program

Project Type: delivery of CPD activities with a focus on health meaurement outcomes.
Project Duration: 2 year

Three videoconferences have been scheduled for 2012. These videconferences are free for rural specialists, but please register as early as possible as spaces are limited.

Video conference topic	Date	Chair	Speakers
Indigenous Health Outcomes	Thursday 3 May 3.30-5.00pm	Dr Jeremy Christley and Dr Ramesh	Dr Jaye Martin, Physician, Kimberley WA Bilawarra Lee, Elder, Senior Lecturer Flinders University, Darwin Dr Carole Reeve, Public Health Physician, Kimberley WA
Sepsis Management	Thursday 2 August 3.30 - 5.00pm	Dr Jeremy Christley and Dr Ramesh	Professor Tony Burrell, Director of Patient Safety NSW CEC Mary Fullick, Project Manager, NSW CEC Dr Josh Davis Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine Royal Darwin Hospital
Mental Health in Indigenous Populations and Farming Communities	Wednesday 22 August 3.50-5.00pm	Dr Jeremy Christley and Dr Howard Flavell	Dr Rob Parker, Top End Mental Health Services, Director of Psychiatry, Darwin NT Dr Tricia Nagel, Associate Professor Flinders University and Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin NT

To register e-mail: events@racp.edu.au

For more information on the project please contact: lauren.dalton@racp.edu.au

Face to Face Workshop

The RACP is pleased to announce the 2012 workshop to be held as a stream within the Rural Medicine Australia Conference.

Title: Models of training and models of care
Date: Thursday 25 October 2012
Place: The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, Western Australia<

The program is currently been finalised and will be promoted shortly. The workshop will be free for rural specialists.

For more information on the project please contact: Lauren Dalton at Lauren.Dalton@racp.edu.au.
 

3. Using simulation and the theme of the deteriorating patient to develop skills and training capacity in rural and remote multi-professional teams

Project Type: Mentoring Program
Project Duration: 3 years

The Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre (SCSSC) working in partnership with the RACP will coordinate the project entitled "Using simulation and the theme of the deteriorating patient to develop skills and training capacity in rural and remote multi-professional teams", to be delivered between April 2011 and April 2013.

PART 1: WORKSHOPS

A choice of seven workshops will be delivered from the SCSSC and host rural centres.
Four clinical up-skilling workshops will focus on different aspects of the topic 'recognition and management of the deteriorating patient'.
• W1 Recognition and management of the acutely deteriorating patient
• W2 Communicating with colleagues and patients
• W3 Preventing errors and managing crises during procedural care
• W4 Managing the critically obstructed airway
Three train-the-trainer (TTT) courses will focus on different educational methods and simulation modalities.
• TTT1 Simulation instructor course: Practical clinical scenarios
• TTT2 Simulation instructor course: Immersive simulation and debriefing
• TTT3 Simulation instructor course: Communication facilitation skills and working with actors

The first workshops are scheduled for June and August 2011 and further workshops will be conducted in 2012 and 2013. Eligible specialists and others are encouraged to apply for any or all of these workshops as individual practitioners.

PART 2: RURAL HOSTING PROGRAM

Up to ten specialists may apply to host one of the clinical up-skilling workshop from their rural hospital facilities with the assistance of the SCSSC project team. Interested specialists are invited to contact the SCSSC Administration Officer.

An information sheet, workshop flyers and application forms are available on the SCSSC website SCSSC website http://www.scssc.edu.au/ or by contacting the SCSSC administration officer, Sarah Doran on (02) 9926 4620).
 

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons projects

Rural Procedural Audit project

This project will provide support for fifteen rural centres as well as individual surgeons to collect and analyse audit data in key craft group procedures using an electronic data collection program called File Maker Pro. Hospitals will receive funding to employ a casual data operator to collect data. Individualised electronic data reports will provide a basis for comparison of acceptable procedural outcomes in rural/remote hospitals. While the data will be collected at a hospital level, unfunded individual surgeons will also be contributing their data to the audit and will receive feedback on their complication rates.

This project is being led by Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) with input from the RACP and The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and will be delivered over a three year period.

For more information on the project please contact, Lauren Dalton at lauren.dalton@racp.edu.au.