Guidelines for the About Giving Vaccines course. Course details

Transcription

1 Guidelines for the About Giving Vaccines course Course details The About Giving Vaccines (AGV) course is a competency based course for health professionals aimed at educating nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners (AHP) and medical practitioners who administer vaccines in the Northern Territory. Participants obtain competency in the following areas: Theoretical knowledge of immunity and vaccine preventable diseases Clinical administration of vaccines to adults and children, in line with the current Northern Territory Vaccination schedules and national recommendations Safe storage and handling of vaccines in line with national recommendations The course started in 1997 and is currently available in a number of different formats. Legislation controlling administration of vaccines Vaccines are Schedule 4 drugs according to the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act These are drugs which are available from a pharmacy only on prescription and are commonly known as prescription only medicines. The NT Poisons and Dangerous Drugs Act makes provision for nurses, midwives, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners (AHP) who are registered under the Health Practitioners Act to administer Schedule 4 drugs in accordance with a Scheduled Substance Treatment Protocol. The Northern Territory Schedule Substance Treatment Protocol (vaccines) mandates the specific circumstances under which these registered practitioners may administer vaccines. These can be summarised as following: The protocol applies to practitioners working in specified schools and health centres; in general these are circumstances under which a doctor may not be present. Practitioners working in hospitals must obtain a doctor s prescription before administering vaccines and the AGV course is not considered mandatory under these circumstances. In addition to being nationally registered, practitioners must hold a current practising certificate. Practitioners must complete the About Giving Vaccines course and attend an up skilling course every three years. Practitioners must hold a current Basic Life Support certificate or Apply First Aid Certificate HLTFA301B. Centre for Disease Control, Immunisation Section. May 2013

2 Eligible participants and pre requisites Registered nurses, registered midwives, enrolled nurses and registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners (AHP) are eligible to participate. Registered medical practitioners may participate if they wish, although the AGV course is not mandatory in order for doctors to administer vaccines. Prior to enrolling, all participants must be competent in Basic Life Support, and must maintain their competency in this area. Trainee health practitioners are not eligible to participate in the course, as under the NT Poisons and Dangerous Drugs Act they are not permitted to possess or supply a Schedule 4 drug. Registered Nurses, Midwives and AHP who have completed an interstate vaccine training course that entitles them to administer vaccines under their respective jurisdictional legislation may administer vaccines on the proviso that they complete the AGV course within six months of commencing employment in the Northern Territory. Practitioners must attend an up skilling course every three years. If a course is unavailable then they may continue to administer vaccines for a further six months only. Program structure There are several different formats of the AGV course available. Participants may select the course which they feel best meets their learning needs. 1. Self directed study the AGV workbook and recommended readings are studied independently, followed by a written assessment. Following successful completion of the written assessment, a clinical assessment is arranged with a registered assessor. Maximum time periods are as follows: o 10 weeks for completion of the workbook, followed by o 2 weeks for completion of the written assessment, followed by o 3 months for completion of the clinical assessment Extensions are not granted automatically but must be discussed before the due date with one of the Immunisation Nurse Educators in order to avoid having to pay a re enrolment fee. 2. Face to face three day workshop pre reading of the AGV workbook is expected before attendance at the workshop which is facilitated by one of the Immunisation Nurse Educators. The workshop culminates in the written assessment and clinical assessment. 3. Face to face five day workshop facilitated by one of the Immunisation Nurse Educators, this course also culminates in the written assessment and clinical assessment. No prior reading is expected, and the course is run primarily for AHP. 4. Face to face up skilling one day workshop facilitated by one of the Immunisation Nurse Educators. Attendance at this course is mandated every three years. Department of Health is a Smoke Free Workplace Page 2 of 6

3 5. Face to face assessor one day workshop facilitated by one of the Immunisation Nurse Educators. Attendance at this course is required every three years in order to maintain assessor status. Face to face courses Face to face courses are currently offered in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Nhulunbuy. Requests to run courses in other areas of the NT will be considered on a case by case basis. Minimum number of participants is determined by the Immunisation Nurse Educator following discussion with the requesting party. Privacy Policy A personal record of all vaccine training is stored electronically and in hard copy at the Centre for Disease Control. It includes the candidate s personal details as supplied on the enrolment form. All personal information collected by the Department of Health will be handled in accordance with the Information Act and the Department s Privacy Policy. For further information on privacy laws, visit Record of Training A Statement of Attainment is issued at the successful completion of all components of the Self Directed and 3 and 5 day workshops (eligible CPD points 30 hours of study) A Certificate of Attendance is issued at the successful completion of the Up skilling workshop (eligible CPD points 6 hours of study) A Statement of Attendance is issued at the successful completion of the Assessor Workshop (eligible CPD points 5 hours of study Costs (2013) The self directed AGV course incurs a cost of $165 for course materials however the cost is subject to change. AGV three and five day courses run at NT Department of Health facilities will be run free of charge however the $165 cost of the materials which is charged to each participant at the time of enrolment. AGV Up skilling and AGV Assessor workshops are run free of charge if run at NT Department of Health facilities and there is no course cost for the participant. Any request by agencies outside the Department of Health to run the courses for their staff members may be charged for. The charge levied will include travel, accommodation costs and the hourly, daily or weekly salary costs of the Immunisation Nurse Educator as determined by the Department of Health. Appendix 1 About Giving Vaccines External Workshop Costs sample letter provides more information. Department of Health is a Smoke Free Workplace Page 3 of 6

4 A non attendance fee of $250 per person will apply if notice of cancellation is not received at least 48 hours prior to any course commencement. In addition payment will not be refunded to any participant if the AGV workbook learning package has already been sent to the applicant. Self directed, three and five day AGV courses Assessment of competency Written assessment multiple choice questions completed in an open book format a part identified as essential questions that require 100% accuracy. An overall accuracy of 90% is required for the entire paper before attempting the clinical assessment. Two attempts at the written assessment are allowed before a candidate is advised to repeat the course. Clinical assessment A face to face assessment of clinical skills relating to all aspects of vaccine storage, obtaining consent for vaccine administration, preparation of vaccines, vaccine administration, severe adverse events following vaccination and recording of vaccine information completes the course requirements. The assessment can be repeated within two weeks if a candidate is considered not yet competent on the first attempt however only those areas of need will be reassessed. Two attempts at gaining competency in the clinical assessment are allowed before a candidate is advised to repeat the course. Participants are encouraged to use the AGV workbook and other course resources when performing their clinical assessment. Participants attending 3 or 5 day workshops must attend each day and session to gain a Statement of Attainment. Up skilling AGV workshop Written assessment multiple choice questions completed in an open book format. This is a summative assessment only with no specified pass mark and does not impact on issuing of Certificate of Attendance. Assessor AGV Workshop Competency is attained through course participation. No assessments are performed. AGV Assessors Immunisation providers who wish to become assessors must complete the one day AGV Assessor workshop. The pre requisites for this course are as follows: A certificate of attainment of the AGV course must be held An up skilling course must have been completed in the preceding three years Basic Life Support competency must be maintained Department of Health is a Smoke Free Workplace Page 4 of 6

5 AGV Assessors are expected to attend an Up skilling course every three years and to attend an Assessors workshop every three years. AGV Assessors are encouraged to complete 3 5 clinical assessments per year. Postgraduate qualification The AGV course is endorsed by Charles Darwin University. Students wishing to gain credit towards CDU postgraduate studies within two years of gaining competency in AGV must: Enrol in CDU Independent study unit SNP410 and pay the relevant university fees Contact the Graduate School for Health Practice for further information Further information Further information about the About Giving Vaccines course, together with information about applying to participate in a course, can be found at the following website: se/index.aspx Department of Health is a Smoke Free Workplace Page 5 of 6

6 ATTENTION: Dear Appendix 1. About Giving Vaccines External Workshop Costs sample letter Centre for Disease Control Immunisation section About Giving Vaccines Course Building 4 Royal Darwin Hospital Tiwi Postal Address: PO Box 40596, Casuarina NT 0811 Tel: Fax: AGVCoordinator.THS@nt.gov.au Our Ref: Your Ref: RE: DELIVERY OF THE ABOUT GIVING VACCINE WORKSHOPS (AGV) TO ORGANISATIONS EXTERNAL TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Further to your enquiry regarding the delivery of AGV courses by staff from the Centre of Disease Control, we wish to inform you that the following charges will apply when any of the AGV courses are delivered. This includes the 3 day AGV face to face course, 1 day AGV up skilling, 1 day Assessor and the 5 day workshop for Aboriginal Health Practitioners. Minimum number of attendees can be discussed with us directly, depending upon your needs. Educator fee payable regardless of location Travel Allowance if located outside of Darwin incurring overnight stays Total if located outside of Darwin incurring overnight stays Weekly rate (Monday to Friday business hours) $3, $393 $ Daily rate $ $78.6 $ Hourly rate $83.13 In addition you would be required to cover the cost of the transport of our educator to your venue (including airfares) and to arrange and cover the cost of any necessary accommodation. Prior to each workshop we will require confirmation of any travel and accommodation bookings and will forward a letter detailing exact costs for your approval and signature before confirming our attendance. Please contact us if there are any further queries or if you would like to place a request for an education session. Yours sincerely Department of Health is a Smoke Free Workplace Page 6 of 6