Health and Academia: In Partnership for Interdisciplinary Training

Abstract

This paper focuses on a partnership agreement between the Clarence Community Health Centre in the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services and the Faculty of Health Science (Nursing, Medicine and Pharmacy) at the University of Tasmania. The aim of the partnership is to develop opportunities for collaboration between the health disciplines and to apply them to the clinical environment, with emphasis on health assessment and care coordination. Clarence is one of two Community Health Centres in Tasmania that provide salaried GP services. Clarence also provides nursing (both Centre-based and in the community), child health, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, speech therapy, social work, and will soon incorporate dental health and mental health services. Trainee health workers are part of this multidisciplinary team. Students spend time with each of the service areas as a part of a structured program in their course, regardless of their area of training. Rural outreach is an important part of the work and training program at Clarence and the Centre is a hub site for Telehealth services. Telehealth enables GPs at Clarence to provide additional support to rural sites. Students (undergraduate and postgraduate) learn about the role of information technology in linking primary health care services through active experience in interdisciplinary teams.