1. Health workforce education & training – a statewide perspective
Judith Abbott
Manager, Workforce Strategy & Regulation
5 February 2007

2. Overview Workforce challenges:
State wide issues and responses to date
National reforms
Clinical placements: challenges and opportunities
Clinical placements agency: what might it do, what are the issues?
Next steps

3. Workforce challenges
Insufficient Victorian undergraduate training numbers
Workforce maldistribution
Changing service models & patient expectations
Education & service delivery intertwined
Long lead times for change
Complex mix of state & federal responsibilities for health & education

4. Victorian response Substantially increase supply
Progress strategies to improve distribution & retention
Examine alternative training & workforce models
Address barriers to innovation
Integrated approach required, recognising that activity in one area will impact on potential outcomes in another

5. National reforms Supply growth from 2007
Improved national linkages between health & education
National agreement on annual planning health education numbers through MCEETYA
Clinical training costs
Productivity Commission & COAG
DEST review of undergraduate funding
National health workforce taskforce
National accreditation & registration

6. Clinical Placements: drivers for reform?
Growth in training numbers
Changing service & workforce models
Concerns regarding efficacy of existing models
Reported difficulties sourcing sufficient placements in some disciplines &/or settings
High level of interest in area, lots of activity, need to be strategic with investment of time & resources

7. Clinical placements strategy
Increase undergraduate clinical training capacity
Promote more strategic, state wide approaches to planning & management
Promote innovative training models
Emphasis on cross disciplinary approaches

8. Innovation Pilot projects
Establish/expand training in non-acute settings
Clinical skills centres
Progress competency-based approaches
Registration & accreditation reforms
DEST review of the impact if the Higher Education Support Act Funding Cluster Mechanisms
Released in late Dec Submissions due 26 February.
More information can be obtained from the DEST website:

9. Funding DEST review Cost sharing arrangements
Review of acute funding model for medical & nursing undergraduate training
DEST review of the impact if the Higher Education Support Act Funding Cluster Mechanisms
Released in late Dec Submissions due 26 February.
More information can be obtained from the DEST website:

10. Planning & evidence Establish statewide planning processes
Establish regular, consistent clinical placement data collections
Support & disseminate research
Update & refine additional supply requirements

11. Capacity building Template agreement (includes cost sharing)
Pilot clinical placements agency concept
Develop IT systems for statewide application that links into broader planning & allocation processes

12. Why consider a clinical placement agency ?
Current arrangements:
Resource intensive, potential duplication of effort
Profession specific, limit potential for interdisciplinary approaches
Do not ensure available capacity is used optimally
Restrict capacity for more strategic approach to planning & accommodating future needs
     
The current approach to organising placements is resource intensive & potentially involves significant duplication of effort.
·          Current decentralised arrangements, with minimal reporting of future requirements or availability, limit the capacity to plan for future clinical placement requirements, which is likely to become increasingly problematic as the supply of students seeking clinical training grows.
·          Courses that are perceived to be less prestigious &/or are delivered by training providers who do not have longstanding relationships with certain health services experience difficulties sourcing placements & in some instances, report their students being displaced &/or ‘shut out’ by those of other providers who have such relationships. There are also reports of training providers competing for places by offering higher levels of payment or other benefits that may not be possible for all.      
·          Available capacity is not always used optimally. For example, there are some reports of overbooking by training providers, where more than the required number of places are reserved, ostensibly to cover unexpected cancellations of placements, & then cancelled at the last minute. This prevents the utilisation of existing health service capacity.
There may be untapped capacity in the system. For example, some rural services & community health services report potential capacity to increase their clinical training load if suitable supports including coordinating resources were available.. This is despite such clinical training having a significant impact on how – & where – graduates practise in their chosen field, & an acknowledged shortage of health practitioners in rural & regional areas.

13. What might it achieve?
Promote local innovation &/or local roll out of successful innovation piloted elsewhere
Facilitate access to ‘new’ placement settings
Promote more effective, team based approaches
Minimise administrative burden on health services & training providers
Improve data collection & planning
exploring a streamlined approach to clinical placement management
Benefits for health services & training providers could include:
Streamlining administrative procedures
Maximising existing capacity
Achieving economies of scale & building capacity
Cohesive approach for future placement planning

14. Issues & challenges How to accommodate multiple: disciplines?
training providers?
services?
Existing relationships
Funding

15. Next steps Agency Clinical placements strategy IT system
National reforms
Clinical placement innovation projects
Forums?
For more information: