Goodale B J, Spitz S, Beattie N J, Lin I B
WA Country Health Service, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Rural Remote Health. 2007 Jul-Sep;7(3):774. Epub 2007 Sep 26.
Therapy assistants (TAs) are widely used in the delivery of therapy services in rural Western Australia (WA). Appropriate training for TAs is an essential part of their practice; however, to date most TAs are trained 'on-the-job', thus taxing the scarce resources of rural and remote allied health professionals (AHPs). There has been limited recognized training that is suitable to their role and easily accessed by rural and remote TAs.
This project report describes the development and evaluation of training for TAs across country WA to address these issues. Sixteen training modules were developed congruent with the requirements of TA work in rural WA. Modules were designed, developed and delivered via videoconference by rural and remote AHPs. A partnership with a registered training provider has allowed TAs to use this training as credit toward a recognized qualification.
A high level of attendance across all country regions of WA confirmed a need for this training. Modules that focussed on a clinical topic, presenters that were well organized, who supplied resources to support the training, and used interactive case scenarios were received most positively. For AHPs this training reduced the work required for training TAs at individual sites. The training resources developed in this project are relevant to other rural and remote health services utilizing a similar model of allied health service delivery. The model of training developed is based on a 'ground-up' approach to ensure training meets the established need. Developing stand-alone training packages that are also adapted for distance learning improves the sustainability and accessibility to training. Therapy assistants are now able to use on-the-job training to achieve a recognized qualification. Despite this it is not believed feasible for health services to insist that rural and remote TAs have a standardized qualification for their work. This article adds to a growing body of work describing the key features of rural and remote TA models of service delivery.
治疗助理（TAs）在西澳大利亚州（WA）农村地区的治疗服务提供中被广泛使用。对治疗助理进行适当培训是其执业的重要组成部分；然而，到目前为止，大多数治疗助理都是“在职”培训，这给农村和偏远地区的专职医疗人员（AHPs）稀缺的资源带来了压力。目前适合其角色且农村和偏远地区的治疗助理能够轻松获取的公认培训有限。
本项目报告描述了为西澳大利亚州农村地区的治疗助理开展培训并对其进行评估以解决这些问题的情况。根据西澳大利亚州农村地区治疗助理工作的要求开发了16个培训模块。这些模块由农村和偏远地区的专职医疗人员通过视频会议进行设计、开发和授课。与一家注册培训机构的合作使治疗助理能够将此培训用作获得公认资格的学分。
西澳大利亚州所有农村地区的高出席率证实了对该培训的需求。最受好评的模块是那些专注于临床主题的、授课者组织有序的、提供支持培训的资源并使用互动式案例场景的模块。对于专职医疗人员来说，这种培训减少了在各个地点培训治疗助理所需的工作量。本项目中开发的培训资源与采用类似专职医疗服务提供模式的其他农村和偏远地区卫生服务相关。所开发的培训模式基于一种“自下而上”的方法，以确保培训满足既定需求。开发独立的培训包并使其也适用于远程学习，可提高培训的可持续性和可及性。治疗助理现在能够利用在职培训获得公认资格。尽管如此，卫生服务机构要求农村和偏远地区的治疗助理拥有标准化的工作资格被认为是不可行的。本文补充了越来越多描述农村和偏远地区治疗助理服务提供模式关键特征的工作。
