Do you care for people in your community who are unwell and not going to get better, people who are getting ready to ‘finish up’? PEPA offers a tailored program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers. This program is flexible and customised to local needs within each state and territory.
Supervised clinical placements are available within palliative care specialist services and/or community nursing services. In most host sites it is appropriate for Aboriginal health workers to attend in pairs. Additional support is available from PEPA Aboriginal Project Officers/consultants, PEPA Managers and/or the Indigenous PEPA National Coordinator as required. Financial support is available to assist you to undertake this education program, including contribution towards backfill (payable to your employer) and travel (for rural and remote applicants).
The program is underpinned by the principle of Cultural Respect in that interventions and services should ‘not unwittingly compromise the cultural rights, practices, values and expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’*. The program has been developed with steering from the PEPA for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Reference Group, which includes representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, policy and education sectors.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers
- Indigenous liaison officers
- Indigenous community workers.
- Male and female health workers are encouraged to apply. Applicants are welcome from all communities including very remote communities and the Torres Strait Islands.
A learning guide has been developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers undertaking a PEPA placement. Local artwork has been added for the covers of the Northern Territory and Victorian guides but the content is identical to the national Learning Guide.
- Learning Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (national artwork)
- Learning Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (NT artwork)
- Learning Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers (VIC artwork)
An innovative social comic has been developed to deal with quality of life issues for Indigenous people who are either in the process of dying or caring for someone who is dying. To access this comic, click on this link to the Indigenous Palliative Care Education Comic.
Annual registration with AHPRA for health professionals requires individual participation in continuing professional development to meet requirements of each National Board. Points can be gained through PEPA placements and workshops with the number of points available varying depending upon the professional discipline. This is a self recording process and all responsibility to document and claim points falls on the registrant directly.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are viewing the PEPA website or other program materials are advised that this site may contain images and voices of people who have died. In some Indigenous communities naming of a deceased person and reference to them or seeing images of deceased persons in photographs, film and books or hearing them in recordings etc may cause sadness or distress and in some cases, offend against strongly held cultural prohibitions. If you become aware that an image or voice of a deceased person is being used by PEPA please contact us and we will endeavour to remove such images from our promotions.
For further information contact the PEPA Manager and/or PEPA Aboriginal Project Officer/Consultant in your state or territory, or visit their website.
* Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council’s (AHMAC) Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Working Party. Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 2004-2009. Department of Health, South Australia, March 2004.