Almost 200 health professionals from across the western Victoria region joined Western Victoria PHN for its first online Primary Care Refresher held over two days on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May.
Attendees heard from an impressive list of speakers around the theme of Partners in Prevention.
GPs, practice nurses, practice staff, allied health professionals, specialists and many more heard from a range of guest speakers on various topics across either a GP and Primary Care stream.
Participants heard presentations from keynote speakers Professor Michael Kidd AM (Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health) and Adjunct Professor (Practice) Alison McMillan (Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Department of Health) who both gave important insights into the National Preventative Health Strategy, the Australian Government’s preparedness for COVID-19, the vaccination rollout, the future of nursing and midwifery and some of the challenges we will face into the future.
Across the weekend, sessions in the GP stream were consistently attended by around 90-110 general practitioners. Sessions such as the ADHA Update, Food and Mood, Transgender Health, Prevention of Opioid Harm, and Trauma-informed Care all generated valuable discussions.
The Primary Care stream attracted around 25-40 attendees per session. The Royal Children’s Hospital sessions on Child Life Therapy and Paediatric Respiratory Considerations were well received, as were sessions on Advanced Care Planning, Nurse Clinics, and Business Success in a Post-COVID World.
The conference concluded on Sunday 30 May with a panel discussion: ‘Youth Mental Health – Connecting the Dots’ with attendees from the GP and Primary Care streams coming together in the spirit of the theme ‘Partners in Prevention’.
To find out more about the 2021 Primary Care Refresher speakers, please view the conference booklet here.
You can also access all the session recordings on the Western Victoria PHN LEARN channel here.
Participants have indicated they were pleased with the online Refresher this year with evaluation figures revealing:
- 99% of respondents said their learning needs were met
- 96% of respondents said attendance at this conference improved their knowledge of preventative health strategies in the Primary Care setting
If you attended the Refresher and haven’t as yet provided feedback on the event, please do so by responding to the conference survey to assist WVPHN with planning future conferences and education events. Please submit your response by Monday 7 June.