|
|
PROSPECT Program
Since 2003 the College, with significant funding assistance from the Australian Government, has been providing much-needed training and supervision to medical personnel in remote locations in the Northern Territory. Through the PROSPECT project (Providing Remote On Site Skills, Procedural Education and Clinical Training), the RACS supports 'clinical instructors' in visits of up to four weeks duration to hospitals in both Gove and Katherine. Clinical instructors have included orthopaedic, paediatric and general surgeons, obstetricians and gynaecologists, physicians and anaesthetists. These specialists appreciate that their experience and love of teaching can be of such great value in remote hospitals where 'live-in' consultants do not exisit. The focus of the training provided by the Clinical Instructors is for hospital medical officers, although a wide range of staff typically find the visits and sessions valuable, including nurses, medical students, local GPs, physiotherapists and Aboriginal Health Workers. A large proportion of patients in Gove and Katherine are Indigenous patients who can present with advanced morbidity. Major trauma and other life threatening emergencies need stabilisation before aerial evacuation to Darwin. The Clinical Instructors may provide assistance in such cases but focus on leaving behind the skills needed for the HMOs to cope on their own. Minor procedures, including some under general anaesthesia, are frequent and such cases are a prime focus on the training programme. Many women present in labour with co-morbid chronic illness, often having no antenatal care. In the absence of the PROSPECT programme, local doctors carry out this demanding work with no supervision and little scope for consultation. Clinical teaching, supervision and advice provided by the clinical instructors is warmly welcomed throughout the hospitals. Would you like to be a PROSPECT Clinical Instructor?The hospitals in Gove and Katherine are of approximately 80 beds and well equipped. Accommodation for clinical instructors is available within the hospital grounds. While not luxurious, these rooms are quite comfortable, adequate with a fully equipped kitchen/living room, separate bedroom, television and air-conditioning. A typical day for a clinical instructor begins with a 45 minute tutorial following a 'hand-over' meeting at 8am. A lunchtime or afternoon tutorial of similar length is also given. Between these times, the clinical instructor provides consultation and advice on new admissions and problem cases in A&E, and coaching/assistance in the operating theatre or delivery suite, as required. Often there is an opportunity for instructors to travel to outlying medical centres to teach staff in these centres and to present to the local Division of General Practice. There is sufficient spare time, especially at weekends, to enjoy the environment at Katherine and Gove, two uniquely beautiful parts of remote Australia. Some of the clinical instructors have been accompanied by their spouses or have arranged for family to meet them in Darwin for a holiday once the teaching committment was completed. The PROSPECT project is organised and co-ordinated from College Head Office in Melbourne. It is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. Airfares and accommodation are fully funded and there is an allowance to cover purchase of food and meals, and some out-of-pocket expenses. The College Project Co-ordinator helps to arrange registration in the Northern Territory and provides a range of useful background information. Instruction is also provided about the reporting and evaluation process that the funding body requires. Northern Territory Health provides indemnity cover as the Clinical Instructors are classified as Hospital Medical Officers. Clinical Instructors can also gain CPD points. Further information is available by contacting:
Last Modified: 5 November 2008 © Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. All rights reserved. |
|
