Sharing is Caring: Innovative education strategies for future Allied Health workforce

This interactive workshop asks a series of questions to gauge what future allied health professionals need to impact chronic condition prevention and management in the Territory and beyond. Review of the Australian health workforce demonstrates a noticeable gap for health professionals in the Northern Territory (N.T.) and a well-known population health disparity with poorer access to health services and higher levels of chronic disease (AIHW 2018, Alston et al 2017 & Bourke et al 2012). The Australian Government Job Outlook site (2019), indicates that allied health professionals such as occupational therapists are likely to have 7,000 job openings over the next 5 years. As health professionals in the N.T. this has two implications; there will be plenty of work, and health professionals need to be equipped to handle challenging health disparities.

The College of Health and Human Sciences at Charles Darwin University is responding to Territory health demands by creating achievable pathways for study and growing its allied health course suite. To ensure courses are meeting industry and client demand there is need to hear from those on the frontline, as their voices are vital to understand what works and what has failed with health service delivery.

In this workshop, health professionals will be asked to reflect on: Knowledge needed when they were part of the university system, topics irrelevant to their practice and what carried forward to be practiced today. Active contributions from participants can lead to real impact on allied health curriculum development, helping prepare and motivate our future allied health professionals.