Alcohol and Other Drugs incentivised training

Brisbane North PHN in association with Insight Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs Training and Workforce Development is offering incentivised training for GPs, practice staff and nurses in the North Brisbane and Moreton Bay region in alcohol and other drugs.

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use is one of the major causes of disease burden in Australia, yet risk factors attached to it are modifiable and disease and sickness can be prevented.

Recognising this, the Department of Health allocated funding to Australian PHNs to specifically promote targeted AOD training for GPs, conducted by the RACGP and ACRRM aiming to upskill GPs to better address drug and alcohol addiction in their local communities.

Whilst specialist AOD treatment services are not located in every community, GPs invariably are, and therefore have a key role to play in supporting their patients to address problematic substance use.

The Insight training for general practice staff is part of a broader strategy to address the impact of COVID-19, which has seen significant rises in calls to crisis and support services.

The advantages of this training include enhanced capacity to engage in the sometimes uncomfortable and awkward conversations required to raise awareness of problematic substance use.

As AOD use and mental health concerns are often intimately linked, obtaining skills to engage in meaningful conversations with a patient, or knowing how to respond to a request for help, will greatly increase your ability to facilitate patient care and treatment, whilst improving your own self-management and coping abilities through these increasingly challenging times.

Registration for the Insight training is free and essential. For further information, contact Amie Horwood, Project Officer, Primary Care Liaison on Amie.Horwood@brisbanenorthphn.org.au, or Gai Lemon, Program Development Officer (Alcohol and Other Drugs) at Gai.Lemon@brisbanenorthphn.org.au.

RACGP training is specifically for GPs and includes online workshops, online learning modules, webinars and a mentoring series.

Members can access the program at three separate entry points, with each pathway a stand-alone program. You can access all three levels of training or just the level of training that best suits you.

• Essential skills focuses on core AOD skills, is available online to all RACGP members and takes two hours to complete.
• Treatment skills builds on the core AOD skills and takes a minimum of six hours to complete. You receive $1,200 upon completion of training. Applications are now open and close on the 31 July 2021.
• Advanced skills builds AOD specific skills based on the AOD trends in your local patient community. It is a flexible learning program and takes up to 20 hours to complete. You receive $2,500 upon completion of training.

Applications for the final RACGP training intake open on the 18 January 2021 and close on the 15 March 2021. The RACGP is also running an AOD Connect: Project ECHO group every Thursday evening, a weekly online forum where GPs can discuss AOD cases and seek support from their peers and AOD experts.

For more information on Program eligibility, grant payments and to register or apply, visit https://bnphn.org/racgp-AODtraining.