ACT Teaching Nursing Home Bid/Open forum - 24 March 2011

This page documents a forum held at the University of Canberra between 12noon and 5pm on 24 March 2011. Below is the draft program and a link to the webstreamed if you'd like to listen in online.

At the Forum, you will be invited to share your ideas about how to develop service delivery in the aged care sector generally, including ways to engage educational and research programs as part of these solutions. If you're participating online please forward your suggestions to Laurie dot Grealish at canberra dot edu dot au. You are also invited to leave comment on this wiki, in the discussion page (see above) or via instant message on the webstream.

After the forum, this page will evolve into

A comment was made that the use of the word "nursing home" excludes other people and organisations offering aged care. The same commenter challenged the focus on registered nurses and enrolled nurses, pointing out that they make up a relatively small percentage of the workforce, so the language of the proposal needs to encompass volunteers, community carers, etc. Essentially suggesting that the proposal needs to aim to encompas the full spectrum of aged care.

Be mindful of the gaps possibly generated between what the Commonwealth identifies aged, what medicare identifies as aged care, what insurance companies and funding bodies identify. The suggestion is that the proposal should be mindful of potential gaps, and try to fill them.

Nicky: Wish list :aged care and current landscape, qualifications, education. Helpful to review and how to improve. Carers in aged care don't have to be registered. Others to include: GPs and all stakeholders. Right care, right place, right time. Walk in clinic and chronic care opportnity. Outreach attached to walkin clinics, who go out to the homeless, and those living rough. Specific area in a facility that care for youger onset and other conditions. Support in residential care models. More beds and more opportunities for students. Reduce acute increase placement. Other partnerships.

Marg: Bid to cover clinical governance. Identify gaps include dental (Bathurst). Teaching facilities need to have best practice and innovative models. Development of a learning culture in facilities. Community consultation. Community and in-home care models. Lifestyle issues, such as CIT offerings such as landscaping, hospitality, to help improve lifestyle. Synergies with vocation and tertiary. manage student expectations.

Kasia: allied health in regional areas - Opportunities in TAFE and universities to offer support, career pathways, hubs and training pathways. Multidisciplinary admissions. Student led services - reduces the money and paper focus, and increases the learning focus, people focused. Expanding student led services out to community (outreach). Bus opportunities. Oral health. What focus: person, learner? Community based wellness services linked to student led facilities. Continuity of care. Social biographies, understanding patients. Inter-professional tools. Rich media opportunities. Community developments. Community development - eden principles - schools - RACF to go to IT classes in schools.

Jo: Marxist Feminist analysis of health sector: noting gender bias in the sector, and the undervaluing underfunding of the sector. Boundaries are permiable. Continuous collaborative capacity. Aged Care - outdated model. Aging - people with dissabilities living longer and longer. Open community flow of learning. We need better understanding of ageing new cateories. Permeability ... Reimagine what we do and how we do it.. eg, rather than a community garden for just rezs, but a garden with the wider community. Architectures to build communities not facilities. MIT lab and innovative practice. How this ideal community could be used to re educate the professionals. Its not just formal learning, informal, genuine, one to one, just in time, situated and networked learning. Continuous community learning to share problems.

Mark: enablers. Link practice and policy. Individualised evidence based practice. Exciting learning communities, that motivates or captures people into the aged care 'workforce'. Multidsciplinary teams. Development of education pathways. Family focus for inclusion. Skilled workers in the community particularly in rural communities. WOrkers in aged care home, and out in the community, such as in rural areas where one can have many roles. Populations: cultural differences. Architecture and design of homes. Universal design. Aged care without walls.

Barriers

Jenny: Resourcing the lead in to the project, if the infrastructure isn't put in place then it could fall over. Leave sufficient lead in time. IT is in place. Making sure the project budget has enough in it. Making sure procedual things are in place. Existing staff may feel threatened and perhaps lack confidence to offer teachings. Communication will need to managed carefully. Provide clinical training to the educators. Assigned specific staff to be educators. Legislative barriers, particularly ACT to NSW such as wage differences. Rural doesn't have the same infastructure. Take care of student orientation. Accredit educators as well as training, support and payment (Cert 4 T&A?). Ensure students aren't exploited as free labor. Upskill existing staff, such as subcare competency. As well as existing staff to upskill and progress. NBN provides an opportunity for treatment and specialist consultation in site.

Greg: Aged Care is a competative industry, may generate colllusion, particularly around tenders and reducing the size of the potential pie. Not much translation from pilot studies into actual change practice. State vs Federal funding, such as Uni and TAFE, State funded hospitals vs homes under federal funding. Problems with post clinic care. Multidsiciplinary dream - how can we make this a reality? Language and terminology may exclude people and concepts. Privacy can become an issue in th eopen and inclusive model, such as police checks requirement for people coming into the facility.

Hamish: Engagement with professional bodies might be a problem if we are seen as a hub for skills and regulations. At some point this project will need to establish a round table for all these bodies, etc. We'll need to identify barriers, competitions, etc. Sensitivity is needed in that one sector or organisation may dominate the conversation. Self censorship may become a problem to envisioning different practices. Employer attitudes might present problems regarding responsibilities and roles relating to time and funding. How do we manage the primary goal and didrection (communication again).

Mark: Multiple sites need to accessed, but risk of few engaging. Educational pathways, recognition and competition between departments and institutions could present barriers. Who is supervising and who is supervising? Are the supervisors experts from each discipline? Learning culture change may be difficult.

Research other funds that could be linkage funding into the project, rather than relying on one big fund.

Pathways for career advance will be important

Reminder that if work is going on the home, then that requires extra and different sensativity

Summary

Summary of the forum, written by Laurie Grealish

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