As you are aware, the Department of Health and Aged Care has started the ambitious journey to better understand ‘scope of practice’ in the context of the primary healthcare workforce. With so many developments taking place within the Australian Podiatry Association and across the wider health sector, here is what you need to know.
In the lead up to the release of the Commonwealth’s report, Unleashing the potential of our Health Workforce, the Australian Podiatry Association (APodA) has attended numerous information sessions, roundtable events, and contributed submissions at various stages of the review.
The APodA has also created relevant member resources including this report and a scope of practice decision tree to aid decision-making; alongside drafting public-facing submissions such as this issues paper.
A key part of these activities informed the creation of APodA’s 2022 Workforce Summit which resulted in the publication of the Workforce Report. This undertaking involved 20 leaders in podiatry and other allied health professions to discuss complex workforce issues faced by the allied health sector, specifically in the context of podiatry. Rather than offer simplified solutions, the report reflects the true complexities of these issues and collates various viewpoints as a basis for onward shared learning.
Following this report’s release, a follow up snapshot report has most recently been launched by the APodA, to highlight yet more recent developments and inform future actions.
Shaping all of this is a range of workforce consultations, dataset collections and reviews driven by the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (Ahpra).
Check out the second Issues Paper which has since been published and includes more insights for podiatrists to reflect on. These issues will be explored in future communications.
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