There is currently just one dermatologist delivering public services at Royal Hobart Hospital.
An innovative training program that will help address the dermatology workforce shortage in Tasmania has won government funding.
The Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD) will receive funding from the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care to pilot the initiative to support the training of specialist dermatologists in Tasmania.
There is currently just one dermatologist delivering public services at Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH), according to the college.
The project aims to address the issue of workforce shortage by increasing opportunities for local doctors to work and train in their home state.
The funding was awarded through the government’s Flexible Approach to Training in Expanded Settings (FATES) program that supports innovative approaches to training in rural and remote areas.
The project will focus on improving pathways for dermatology trainees wanting to train in Tasmania and will also increase access to specialist care for local communities by building the supervisory capacity needed to re-establish training at the RHH.
ACD President Dr Clare Tait said addressing the shortage of dermatologists in rural, regional and remote areas was a high priority for the college, which was delighted to be working with the Tasmanian Department of Health and Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) to deliver this project, in collaboration with other local stakeholders.
The media announcement was Dr Tait’s last as president of the college. She will hand over the ACD reins to Melbourne dermatologist Dr Adriene Lee at the college’s AGM tonight.
“ACD has a strong track record of bringing together federal and state governments, as well as public and private practice to provide tailored solutions to regional and rural training to address workforce issues and meet the unique needs of local communities,” Dr Tait said.
“We are currently running two pilot programs under the FATES project in Townsville and Darwin, and as with the Tasmanian project, each involves close collaboration with local stakeholders and is tailored to the needs of the communities they service.”
The Tasmanian project enables Hobart based dermatologists to take up public appointments at RHH, as well as support newly graduated dermatologists to transition to rural practice with public appointments at RHH.
They will join the sole dermatologist currently delivering public services at RHH, to build a robust dermatology department to deliver sustainable dermatology services to the Tasmanian communities now and into the future, said Dr Tait.
“This project will enable newly graduated Fellows to transition to practice in their home state and provide a much-needed service to the community of Tasmania,” she said.
“Further, it will provide other young doctors greater exposure to dermatology, and we hope, inspire more local trainees to apply for the training program, and ultimately practice in their home state.”
As well as providing trainees rotating to Tasmania with exposure to varied expertise and mentorship from dermatologists, the project also uses a multidisciplinary training approach involving adjacent specialties all aimed at creating a high quality, positive experience.
“It will provide trainees and newly graduated dermatologists with the opportunity to develop collegial relationships with locally based Tasmanian specialists that would help with their training and encourage their future practice in Tasmania” Dr Tait said.
Encouraging a “home-grown” workforce was a key goal of the project she said.
“By offering local doctors the chance to train locally as well as a pathway for those who wish to transition back to their home state, this project will provide the community with a more sustainable workforce and help address workforce issues such as shortage and maldistribution,” she said.
