Interesting lecture by the sounds of it:

Dr Christy Newman

recipient of the Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia’s 2010 Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research

is giving a lecture on Wednesday 10 August (6pm to 8pm)

“Workforce worries: the changing worlds of HIV medicine and the general practitioners who provide it.”

Health workforce shortages are commonly described in media and policy discourse as an increasing problem for many ‘advanced liberal’ nations, including Australia. While the structural and economic
explanations for this have become the subject of considerable debate and resourcing, less attention is paid to the social meanings ascribed to particular areas of health care work and to how these might also shape career and employment trajectories. This lecture will consider what a more constructivist approach to understanding the ‘problem’ of workforce shortages might contribute. In particular, I will introduce the first national study of the HIV general practice workforce and explore some of the changing clinical, professional and political meanings of HIV medicine for the general practitioners who provide care to people living with HIV around the country.

at the University of New South Wales (Tyree Room, John Niland Scientia Building, Library Road, Kensington Campus).

FREE ADMISSION, BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Those interested in attending should RSVP to assa.secretariat@anu.edu.au ; ph 02 62491788 by 3 August.

Dr Christy Newman is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for HIV Social Research where she has contributed to a wide range of research projects in HIV and blood borne viruses, general practice and primary health care, Aboriginal health and health in the media, since completing her PhD in 2004. She has a disciplinary background in communication and cultural studies, and her strengths lie in applying qualitative social research tools to the fields of public health and health services, with a particular focus on conceptual framing, cultural politics, representation and discourse. Her current research is mostly focused on the experiences and aspirations of the Australian health care workforce and the patients with whom they work. She is particularly interested in the changing meanings of work and profession in general practice and primary health care, especially for those clinicians and allied health workers who are engaged with diverse populations, often marginalised or affected by social stigma in different ways, such as people living with HIV, gay men, Illicit drug users and indigenous Australians. Dr Newman is the recipient of the 2010 Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research, an award established by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in memory of a past Academy President, Professor Paul Francis Bourke (1938-1999).

For those attending the lecture, the map of UNSW Kensington at the attached link, may be helpful. The map reference for the venue is G19.
http://www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Professor Fred Hilmer AO, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of New South Wales and Professor Barry McGaw AO, President ASSA, cordially invite guests to stay for refreshments at the conclusion of the lecture.

Beyond an Effect Size: Innovations in Thinking & Practice

7-9 March 2012

Auckland, New Zealand

HMA is pleased to announce the second International Symposium on Motivational Interviewing (ISMI). The event will be held in Auckland, New Zealand on 7-9 March 2012.

Keynote address by Theresa Moyers, PhD – University of New Mexico (USA)

· Pre-Symposium professional development workshops

· Two-days of interactive presentations by colleagues from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and beyond

The venue for ISMI is the Stamford Hotel located in the heart of the city

Call for Papers

We are looking forward to covering a wide range of innovative, informative and creative presentations on the key themes of ISMI: Beyond an Effect Size: Innovations in Thinking and Practice. We are interested in hearing about scientific and practice-based papers that inform people about the different ways MI is taught, practiced, integrated, culturally adapted and researched across professions around the world. All presentations will be in a plenary format for thirty minutes followed by fifteen minutes of discussion and questions.

· Submitted abstracts should be 250 words or less.

· Abstracts due date: 17 October 2011

o Please include contact information

o Submitted in Pages or Word format to joel.porter@hma.co.nz

For more registration information please contact: joel.porter@hma.co.nz

QADREC is offering a new course within the University of Queensland’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Studies.
This course is offered face to face (internal mode) Semester 2, 2011 on Wednesdays 9am -11am at the School of Population Health, Herston, Brisbane. It will also be offered in distance education/flexible delivery mode for students outside of the Brisbane area.

PUBH7029 – Drugs and Young People
Individual levels of drug use generally peak during early adulthood. But drug use among young people has long evoked public controversy and uncertainty in the policy arena. Why do many young people choose to experiment with drugs? What are the health and social consequences of different patterns of use? Are current public health interventions appropriate? This course provides students with a framework for understanding young people’s changing patterns of legal and illegal drug use. Cultural representations of drug use and policy responses are critically analysed and evaluated.

For further information please contact Clinton Kempnich (07)3344670 or Yvonne Flanagan (07)33655189 or visit the QADREC website at

http://uq.edu.au/qadrec/

Hepatitis for Health Care Workers – On-line Course

12th September – 28th October 2011

This is a 7 week course which will be conducted entirely on-line through Moodle. It is estimated that that weekly reading and course activities will take around 1-3 hours to complete. There will be no “set time” to be on-line. Participants can complete activities at a time that suits them. This course provides an overview of current information on viral hepatitis with a focus on hepatitis C. It is suitable for clinical and allied health workers who provide services for people living with or at risk of viral hepatitis.

Topics covered include:

ü Overview of hepatitis A, B, C
ü Management of chronic Hep C
ü Coinfection
ü Pre-test counselling (introduction)
ü Psychosocial issues
ü Hep C and discrimination
ü Nutrition and hep C
ü Management of Occupational Exposures

Course Fees: $275.00 including GST

Applicants in NSW may be able to obtain funding from their Area HIV/AIDS co-ordinator or from the Workforce Development Program.

For enquiries or to register, call
Albion Street Centre Education
Tel: (02) 9332 9720 Fax: (02) 9360 4387
Email: albeducation@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au

Could be an interesting number of sessions:

Australia’s dependence on pain medications addressed by Pain Symposium

The growing reliance by Australians on pain medication will be one of the difficult topics addressed by a group of experts in Canberra in the coming month. A Symposium on Pain has been organised to address both the causes of pain and the ways in which medical and allied health professionals can work with those suffering from both acute and chronic pain.

Symposium organiser, Associate Professor Lynne Magor-Blatch agrees with the concerns raised by Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital alcohol and drug service director, Dr Alex Wodak, who this week stated that Australian reliance on pain medications was placing many patients at risk of overdose.

“Certainly within the alcohol and other drugs field we are seeing increased numbers of presentations to services by people who have become addicted to powerful medications such as oxycodone’, A/Prof Magor-Blatch stated.

The Symposium on Pain, which will take place at the University of Canberra on Tuesday 2 August, will bring together practitioners, researchers and policy makers to discuss the issues associated with acute and chronic pain, and discuss both the causes and treatments for sufferers.

“Pain is a common complaint, with many underlying causes. This Symposium will include discussion of the Government’s developing strategy on the use of pharmaceutical drugs, it will include presentations by doctors and pain specialists, and provide the opportunity to hear from psychologists, physiotherapists and others working in the field”.

Experts addressing the Symposium include Professor Ann Roche from the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction; Dr Penny Briscoe, who is the Director of the Pain Management Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, speaking on the role of the multidisciplinary team, and especially the promotion of allied health – psychology and physiotherapy – to address chronic pain; Emeritus Professor Ian Webster, who will talk about pain and suicide; and Dr Andrew Watson, from The Canberra Hospital Pain Management Unit.

A/Prof Magor-Blatch added, “We are tremendously fortunate to have speakers of such calibre addressing the Symposium, and this will be expanded by a number of speakers from the University’s Health Faculty, who will provide examples of evidence-based practice in working with pain sufferers”.

The opening address will be provided Dr Peggy Brown, Director-General ACT Health and the Symposium opened by Professor Stephen Parker, Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra.

For further information on the Symposium, contact A/Prof Lynne Magor-Blatch at the Centre for Applied Psychology by email at lynne.magor-blatch@canberra.edu.au

The NSW Users & AIDS Association’s (NUAA) is a not-for-profit NSW-based organisation advocating for people who use drugs, particularly those who inject drugs.

NUAA aims to advance the Health, Rights, and Dignity of people who use drugs illicitly.

Have you a question you are too afraid to ask anyone? (anyone that is, except NUAA staff)

Would you like to hear about NUAA’s goals for 2011?

Would you like to meet our staff and take the NUAA tour?

Do you want to learn about our Peer Education programs and how to become involved?

Join us for tea or coffee and lively conversation at our regular Open Day each quarter.

Collect copies of past issue’s of User’s News, Smackfreak, and other NUAA resources.

Bookings Essential: Call Janne on (02) 8354 7300 or email jannes@nuaa.org.au

Address: 345 Crown Street, Surry Hills (15 minute walk from Central Station)

Entrance: 349 Crown St (press the NUAA buzzer and we’ll let you in).

Via ADCA today:

Karralika Programs Inc Appoints New CEO – Camilla Rowland: Mrs Camilla Rowland has been appointed (as of today, 4 July), as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Karralika Programs Inc, formerly known as the Alcohol and Drug Foundation of the Australian Capital Territory (ADFACT). The Chair of Board of Karralika Programs Inc, Mr David Templeman, welcomed Camilla’s appointment saying that 2011 marked a new era for the organisation which also had a new leadership team.

Camilla has over 20 years experience in the community services and health sectors in rural Australia and more recently in Canberra. She has worked with peak bodies and local community service organisations, and was previously a senior executive with ACT Communities@Work. Camilla is also President of Families ACT, a Committee Member of the National Disability Service (ACT), and a Board Member of the OzHelp Foundation. Supporting Camilla is the newly appointed Services Director, Ms Sharon Tuffin, and Program Managers, Dawn Bainbridge, Kerry Fitzroy, Kim Flemming and Pete Townsend.

Karralika Programs Inc continues to provide case-managed treatment options for adults with alcohol and other drug dependencies, and their children, in residential and community settings, having delivered services in the ACT and surrounding area for over 35 years. Mr Templeman said that Camilla her team looked forward to building and growing relationships with Karralika’s partners to achieve the organisation’s aim of helping clients “choose a better life”.