Education

The alcohol and drug sector in Australia has and is experiencing pressures and changes which both have major implications for the development of responsive and sustainable services into the future.

The drivers of change include–the growing concept of recovery, patterns of substance use, a recognition of co-morbidity issues, both a scarcity and competition for funding and resources, pragmatism and misperceptions in the treatment and support of AOD issues existing outside the sector, and the increasing importance of demonstrated outcomes.

A must attend event for workers and clinicians in the alcohol and drug sector, this year’s conference – Limited Resources, Unlimited Ideas, will show case how new ideas, new practice, new models of treatment and new approaches can achieve not just results, but efficiencies.

It’s a chance to learn and to find out how the AOD sector is alive with opportunities and turn great ideas into action!

The 2013 Australian Winter School – connecting the alcohol and other drug sector | igniting debate and discussion | sharing new ideas, practices and research.

See you in Brisbane in July 2013.

 Register and win

Register before 31 May 2013 and save $100. Be one of the first 100 to register before 31 May and go in to the draw for a $200 Coles Myer voucher. Register now at www.wintershcool.info

 Date:       17-19 July 2013

Venue:    Novotel Brisbane, 200 Creek Street, Brisbane

The Medicine in Addiction Conference 2013, to be held in Sydney 15-17 March. This is the second co-convened conference of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Section of Addiction Psychiatry, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ (RACP) Chapter of Addiction Medicine.

Building on the success of the first conference in Melbourne, this year we have introduced new and different aspects to the program. Five workshops will be held on:

• Smoking cessation
• Managing insomnia
• Advanced motivational interviewing skills
• One-session intervention for PTSD
• Hep C in primary care,  ASHM

MIA 2013 provides a great opportunity for delegates to hear from the country’s leading addiction clinicians and researchers, update their skills and knowledge, and network with colleagues and peers.

Follow this link to find out more.

Collaborative practice in primary care involves the communication, sharing, and problem solving between nurses, doctors and the multi-disciplinary team as peers. This pattern of practice also implies a shared responsibility and accountability for patient care.

Partnership, team work, and cooperation are all essential to ensure effective collaboration. Nurses have long held a role of collaborator and coordinator within the multi-disciplinary team, reforms in primary health care will require us to strengthen and promote good collaborative practice.

At this conference participants will be working together to explore the barriers and enablers to effective collaborative practice.  There will be presentations that look at therapeutic interventions, case studies of collaborations, primary mental health reforms and the role of the mental health nurse in the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program.

Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March 2013, Rydges Lakeside Canberra

For more information follow this link

Since its inception in late 2011 the Victorian Network of Smokefree Healthcare Services has continued to gain momentum in addressing smoking at the healthcare service level – after all, this is where there is an opportunity to engage with and motivate clients to address their smoking and to model the organisational commitment that is needed to achieve further reductions in smoking levels.

The Network offers 6-monthly forums to provide ongoing opportunities for the sharing of knowledge and experiences – the first two held in 2012 brought together representatives from healthcare services from throughout Victoria and highlighted the complex reality of what it means to be a Smokefree. Feedback from the last forum in August identified a number of key issues for healthcare services including compliance with smoking bans; smoking on the facility boundaries; provision of smoking cessation support; funding for smoking initiatives and health promotion in relation to smoking.

These will be amongst the issues to be addressed at the Network’s third forum which will be held on Friday 1^st March. Find out full details by downloading  VNSHS Forum Invitation and Registration

4 March 2013 – Every day, until 6th Mar 2013

Gain in-depth knowledge and skills in nicotine addiction and smoking cessation to work in primary and allied healthcare as a tobacco treatment and smoking cessation specialist.
You will be taught by experts in nicotine addiction and smoking cessation, including world expert A/Prof Renée Bittoun and other leaders in the field.
Topics you will cover during the course:

• The causes, consequences, treatment and latest research in smoking cessation and nicotine addiction
• Practical skills for applying evidence-based smoking cessation techniques in your workplace
• How to improve the implementation and evaluation of programs in Smoking Cessation in your workplace

The course is brought to you by A/Prof Renée Bittoun from the Smoking Research Program, Brain & Mind Research Institute, and Editor-in Chief of The Journal of Smoking Cessation.

Find out more by following this link.

Please note: Information is correct at the time of posting

The Smoking Research Unit’s “Nicotine Addiction and Smoking Cessation Course” at the Brain & Mind Research Institute.

Please see the attached Course flier and registration form…Nicotine Addiction and Smoking Cessation flyer 2013

The dates are:

March 4th – 6th
June 17th – 19th
(Please Note: This course is specifically designed for Mental Health Professionals)
November 11th – 13th

Please note: Information is correct at the time of posting

In 1997, the World Health Organization sponsored the development of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to address the need for a reliable, culturally adaptable, valid screening test for problematic or risky substance use. Further details on the ASSIST can be obtained here.

Because internationally the ASSIST is becoming one of the dominant screening tests, there is an urgent need to train key trainers who can then conduct further training and capacity building within their own countries using the ASSIST as the centrepiece of a public health intervention in health care and social service delivery systems.

There is a comprehensive online training package and it is free! There are 2 options, ASSIST training or ASSIST train-the trainer. If you work with people where substance use is an issue you will want to know more so follow this link to find out about the (free) training options that are available.

Please note: Information is correct at the time of posting.

Rural and Remote Drug and Alcohol Education

The College of Nursing is offering an on-line course in the

“Management of Emergency Presentations of Drug and Alcohol  Use”

This 75 hour online course, over 12 weeks includes the following topics:

• Introduction to drug and alcohol policy
• Attitudes and values around drug and alcohol use
• Management of intoxication, overdose and withdrawal
• Drug and alcohol assessment
• Overview of treatment options

Find out more by following this link.

Please note: Information is correct at the time of posting.

Narrated by Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman, “Breaking the Taboo” is produced by Sam Branson’s indie Sundog Pictures and Brazilian co-production partner Spray Filmes and was directed by Cosmo Feilding Mellen and Fernando Grostein Andrade. Featuring interviews with several current or former presidents from around the world, such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the film follows The Global Commission on Drug Policy on a mission to break the political taboo over the United States led War on Drugs and expose what it calls the biggest failure of global policy in the last 40 years.

Follow this link to YouTube to see the entire film.

Part of the role of the new national regulatory agency for higher education in Australia is to accredit courses within higher education. A major part of the process will be asking experts from the many specialisations to assess the content of the courses proposed for accreditation.

Find out more about how you can get involved, perhaps register as an expert,  at the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, TEQSA website. Follow this link.