Topic: Workforce

UNE Partnerships is taking enrolments for its 2025 specialised career education courses.

Whether your staff are looking to enhance their skills, advance in their current role or embark on a new career path in the healthcare industry, these nationally recognised qualifications are designed to provide the knowledge and expertise needed.

Enrolments close Friday, 28 February with the new intake starting the week of 17 March.

UNE Partnerships offers specialised courses in Medical Reception, Medical Practice Assisting, Health Administration and Leadership in Healthcare Practice.

Courses on offer are:

• Certificate III in Business (Medical Administration): For health receptionists/administrators in customer-facing roles who want to expand their skills and knowledge. Suitable for new entrants or those who have been working in the role who haven’t obtained formal recognition.
• Certificate IV in Medical Practice Assisting (MPA): For health receptionists or health administrators in a health practice or medical setting who wish to expand their skills into a clinical setting.
• Certificate IV in Health Administration: For health administrators wanting to expand their administration skillset to expand further into the business operational side of a medical practice.
• Diploma of Leadership in Healthcare Practice: For established or up and coming practice managers. This qualification offers a strong focus on continuous improvement, customer service, patient-centred care and emerging trends in the sector.

All programs have funding available to eligible participants and traineeship funding for new employees. To find out more phone Alana Segnit on 6773 4505 or email alana.segnit@unepartnerships.edu.au.

The deadline for GPs to meet 2024 CPD activities is nearing and South Western Sydney PHN has compiled resources to support GPs in meeting their requirements.

What has changed? 

In January 2023, the Medical Board of Australia changed the minimum Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements to meet registration standards with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).  

Previously, GPs needed to accrue a certain number of CPD points over a triennium.  

Now they must now complete a minimum of 50 hours of CPD hours per year across three different types of activities: 

• A minimum of 12.5 hours of Educational Activities 
• A minimum of 25 hours of Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes activities (with a minimum of five hours of each) 
• The remaining 12.5 hours is the GP’s choice from the three types of CPD activity (Educational Activities, Reviewing Performance Activities and Measuring Outcomes Activities) 

Measuring Outcomes is the most challenging of the three types of CPD activities because it requires GPs to track changes in their practice data before and after a set period of time.  

A significant number of GPs did not meet their minimum requirements at the end of 2023.  As a result, a grace period was granted to allow GPs more time to meet these requirements. 

The Medical Board of Australia has indicated there will be no further extensions. 

Did you know you can claim CPD hours for Practice Accreditation?

GPs who worked in a practice accredited in 2023 are eligible to claim 2.5 Reviewing Performance (RP) hours and 2.5 Measuring Outcomes (MO) hours annually for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

GPs who worked in a practice accredited in 2024 can claim 3.5 hours RP and 4.0 hours MO for 2024 and in 2025, 4.0 RP hours and 3.5 MO hours.

*Please note, if the practice was accredited through AGPAL, QPA or Global Mark, you should first visit MyCPD Home to check your CPD History to make sure the RACGP hasn’t already uploaded the CPD hours on your behalf for 2024. If not, you should Quick Log the hours as described above.

What support is available to you in meeting your CPD requirements? 

GPs can search for RP Activities and MO Activities through ‘browse’ on their MyCPD Home portal using the filters. Additionally, GPs can complete the RP or MO Tool, also available through their MyCPD Home portal. Click here

To connect with the RACGP’s CPD team, GPs can call 1800 472 247 and select CPD when prompted.

Additional resources:

Step-by-step RACGP Measuring Outcomes Tool

CPD Solutions Measuring Outcomes 

Mini Audit/Audit Template 

Your RACGP CPD Solutions 

Do you need CPD – Measuring Outcomes hours? On-demand webinars 

RACGP – FAQs 

Two South Western Sydney health professionals have flown the flag for the region in the recent Stronger Medicare Awards.

Dr Dong Hua of Kenyon Street Medical Centre and Selin Tekirdag, practice nurse manager at Fairfield Chase Medical and Dental Centre, were among 20 people from across the nation to be named Medicare Champions.

In Medicare’s 40th birthday year, the Stronger Medicare Awards recognise and honour the outstanding health professionals and other workers in clinics, health centres, general practices and primary care settings all around Australia.

Dr Hua and Ms Tekirdag, who both work in Fairfield, received their award at a ceremony held in Parliament House, Canberra earlier this month.

They were among nine individual winners who included general practitioners, nurse practitioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and allied health professionals. Eleven primary healthcare teams were also recognised.

More than 140 nominations were received from across the country, with 37 finalists and the final 20 Medicare Champions chosen by a panel of experts.

Dr Dong Hua: championing accessible care

As a practice principal, Dr Hua has been recognised for providing accessible and culturally appropriate care in his highly diverse community, as well as supporting vulnerable patients, including those in financial hardship.

He played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to contribute to surveillance and treatment efforts. He has created a multidisciplinary care team of nurses, GPs, podiatrists, psychologists and physiotherapists to help address chronic disease within the community.

Dr Hua said receiving the Medicare Champions award was an “amazing and special” experience.

“I took part in the awards because I was encouraged by my colleagues who believe I have made a significant contribution to my culturally diverse community in Fairfield and South West Sydney, especially during the COVID pandemic where I was managing the respiratory clinics in Fairfield and Campbelltown,” he said.

“I felt incredibly honoured to be named a Medicare Champion. It’s the highest award I have achieved in my life to date, and I was thrilled to have made my family and friends proud.”

Dr Hua said a highlight of the awards night was meeting senior health ministers and the Prime Minister, as well as all the other finalists from around the country.

“I was inspired by all the other finalists’ achievements in providing exceptional care and commitment to their work,” he said. “I’m a GP because of the diversity of medicine we are presented with in primary healthcare and its intergenerational role allows me to be my patient’s specialist in life.

“Awards nights like these are important as they recognise the importance of primary healthcare and value the excellence of GPs and multidisciplinary teams that go above and beyond for their community. It provides ongoing passion for my colleagues to continue to improve the health outcomes of our patients.”

Selin Tekirdag: empowering nurses and communities

As a practice nurse manager Ms Tekirdag is passionate about ensuring healthcare is available to everyone.

She works with culturally diverse communities in Fairfield and also supports 28 medical centres across NSW and the ACT as a chronic disease management nurse manager.

Among her achievements is the establishment of a nurse-led women’s health clinic that provides a safe space and delivers education and resources to promote mammogram testing, cervical screening, STI protection and contraception.

Ms Tekirdag also trains other nurses in chronic disease management, advocating for multidisciplinary care and sharing best practice with staff in regional and remote areas.

Her colleagues nominated her for the Medicare Champions award because of her efforts in supporting other nurses to grow their clinics within primary care and the positive feedback she received from patients about the quality of care she provided.

In accepting the award Ms Tekirdag said: “I felt as though I represented my company by bringing our team’s achievements to light, as well as communities in Australia who don’t always have a voice when dealing with their health”.

“It was very exciting being able to shake the Prime Minister’s hand and network with other like-minded, passionate health professionals,” she said.

“These awards are an amazing opportunity to recognise the small fish in the big pond of Australian healthcare. Our achievements within primary care have made some of the biggest impacts to our communities and it’s important that we continue to feel excited and recognised in the space.”

A national celebration of primary care

Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler congratulated the 20 individuals and teams honoured as Medicare Champions, the 17 other finalists, and the many talented health professionals who received nominations.

“Our nation is so privileged to have so many selfless, dedicated, caring and innovative healthcare workers, who turn up every day to keep their patients healthy and out of hospitals,” Mr Butler said.

“We need more of these professionals and that is why a new advertising campaign is planned for early 2025, to help raise the profile of working in primary care and attract more people to the sector.

“It seems incredible to me that there has never been a primary care workforce campaign, considering how important this sector is. Development of that campaign is under way right now.

“The campaign will elevate primary care and raise the profile of GPs, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, First Nations health practitioners and every single role that make primary care and Medicare what they are today.”

Learn more about the Stronger Medicare Awards

As a one-stop shop for medical information, My Health Record provides answers for both patients and healthcare professionals.

The secure online summary of key health information can be accessed by both providers and patients. They can view the system and add relevant information as needed.

For providers, My Health Record offers immediate access to important health data. It helps validate and verify clinical information such as adverse medication events or allergy details. It also reduces the need for duplicate tests and diagnostic imaging, provides immunisation details, and improves continuity of care over a patient’s life.

Patients benefit from quick access to key health information. This means less need to remember medical history and medications. It also improves management of relevant health issues and supports informed self-management.

For Ingleburn Medical and Dental Centre, the use of My Health Record has been invaluable.

Insights from the Assistant Manager on My Health Record’s Impact

Assistant manager Michelle Peters said it allowed healthcare providers to easily access important patient information.

“It offers us better coordination of care as we can also access a patient’s health data from other healthcare providers such as specialists and hospitals, which allows GPs to collaborate more effectively,” Ms Peters said.

“We can get lab results, diagnostic imaging reports and other test results quickly and easily, and we can find out what medications the patient is taking without having to rely on them to remember details like dosage and potential adverse reactions.

“My Health Record also includes discharge summaries from hospitals and referrals from other specialists.”

Practice manager Teresa Ly said authorised staff can access My Health Record during routine patient visits to review medical histories.

“By encouraging GPs to keep the data up to date with Shared Health Summary uploading we can help patients keep an accurate electronic record of their health,” Ms Ly said. “And having access to previous information in real time means we don’t have to go searching for it via other mediums.”

As for the extra work required to keep the records up to date, Ms Ly says it is time well spent.

“Any time working with My Health Record on our practice management software (PMS) offsets a much longer process of manually acquiring notes and information, such as phone calls, email correspondence and faxes,” she said.

“By promoting its use, we encourage our patients to take control of their health information. This improves patient engagement and involvement in their own care.

“At Ingleburn Medical and Dental Centre, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend using My Health Record. It is a very useful tool to help maintain care across each of the patient’s providers while giving them transparency when it comes to their own health.

“And we also appreciate the assistance provided by the practice support staff at South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) which ensures we make the best use possible of the tools we have available.”