Nineteen staff from Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs) across NSW and ACT are the fifth cohort to graduate from a unique nationally recognised Diploma in Practice Management for Aboriginal Medical Services developed by general practice training organisation GP Synergy in collaboration with TAFE Digital.
Their achievement was recognised at a graduation ceremony in Tamworth on Tuesday night.
One of the graduates, Jessica Ride of Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service undertook the course to further her career in Aboriginal health, an area that she is passionate about.
“By completing the course, I am now on my way to reaching my dream of one day being a practice manager of an AMS.
“I am so committed to improving Aboriginal health and making sure our mob get the care that they need to break down those gaps.
“I want to see our community break those statistics and live a long healthy life.
“The Aboriginal community controlled health sector is different to mainstream general practice, from the types of patients we deal with, the complexity of the health care, our holistic approach to health care, the focus on preventative lifestyle choices.
“I appreciated that the course was targeted at the work we do in AMSs,” Ms Ride said.
GP Synergy CEO John Oldfield congratulated the graduates on completing the diploma.
“The Diploma in Practice management for Aboriginal Medical Services was first delivered in 2015, as a vehicle to improve healthcare service delivery for local Aboriginal communities through practice manager upskilling.
“The course is also helping AMSs increase opportunities for doctors training to be GPs to undertake Aboriginal health training in a community-controlled setting.
“The diploma plays an important role in our commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals to help close the gap between health outcomes for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians,” Mr Oldfield said.
