“This training has given me the confidence to go back to my organisation and work with them to increase consumer representation.”
We offer training and education programs for both, health consumer representatives and health service staff. We strive to increase the confidence of consumers and staff to implement health consumer engagement in any setting.
Through collaborative peer-learning, facilitated discussions, workshop activities and networking opportunities, our aim is to empower both consumers and staff to be better equipped to provide meaningful contributions to service improvement, delivery and evaluation and innovation.
Training for Consumers
Our popular Consumer Representative Development Training course has recently undergone a review and has a shiny new look! The two-day program is filled with new content, new resources for consumers to use in their roles, and more group activities!
Our two-day training program covers the following topics:
- Understanding the role and responsibilities of health consumer representative, health service providers and the interactions between these groups
- Context of the health system in NSW and the Primary Health Networks
- How consumer representatives help improve health services
- How to use personal lived experience and stories in advocacy
- Understanding the importance of self-care
- The impact of values, beliefs and attitudes on communication
- Tips and tools for effective participation in meetings
If you’re a consumer and you’re interested in doing our Consumer Representative Training course, please get in touch!
Training for Staff
Consumer Engagement Training
Our new full day program is filled with new content, more activities and provides further opportunities to discuss the needs of your organisation.
Our full day training program covers the following topics:
- Understanding the varied roles health consumers can have within an organisation
- Review the current involvement of consumers in the organisation
- Explore different levels of consumer engagement
- Explore how consumers add value to services
- Understand what motivates consumers to become involved
- Understand the different expectations of consumers and staff
- Highlight barriers and enablers to effective consumer engagement
- Strategies for enhancing enablers and reducing barriers
- How to support consumers in safe storytelling
Graduate Certificate in Consumer and Community Engagement
We are proud to partner with Health Issues Centre to offer the Graduate Certificate in Consumer and Community Engagement. This nationally accredited course provides an in-depth examination of consumer and community engagement for staff who work in the area of consumer engagement.
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be competent to:
- Evaluate best practice for consumer engagement in health to inform policy and practice in their own work
- Recommend evidence-based best practice improvement to the current consumer engagement practice of an organisation
- Operate within community development, consumer engagement and/or health promotion prinicples
- Work effectively within a social inclusion framework and with diversity in the community
- Evaluate the capacity of an organisation to meet legal and reporting requirements in relation to consumer engagement
- Evaluate best practice for consumer engagement in health to inform policy and practice in their own work
- Develop/review the consumer engagement plan of an organisation
promote consumer leadership within an organisation - Develop effective consumer leadership within an organisation
engage the organisation with key external stakeholders relevant to consumer engagement - Seek funding for consumer-led initiatives
- Design processes to evaluate a consumer engagement plan
- Implement consumer engagement in an organisation
- Facilitate the professional development and training of staff in consumer engagement
- Manage the learning and development of consumers in consumer engagement
- Manage partnerships with key external stakeholders and networks
- Manage systems for the recruitment and management of consumers
- Involve consumers in staff selection, interviews, appraisals and training
- Encourage the conduct of research into consumer engagement
- Review consumer engagement systems and structures of an organisation
- Manage the effective operation of a Consumer Advisory Committee/Group (CAC/CAG) in an organisation
- Design and implement community consultations and needs assessments for an organisation
- Administer the establishment and maintenance of a consumer register in an organisation
- Improve the consumer health information systems and strategies of an organisation.
Want to know more?
If you’re interested in upskilling your staff to more effectively work with consumers and further develop your consumer engagement strategies as an organisation, please get in touch!
Training at our venues
We currently offer 3 training courses at our offices in the CBD. These courses are aimed at individual participants. The courses we offer are:
For Health Consumers:
- Consumer Representative Development Training – offered 4 times a year!
For Health Service Staff:
- Consumer Engagement Training – offered twice a year!
- Graduate Certificate in Consumer and Community Engagement – offered annually!
Training at your organisation
If you have groups of staff or consumers you would like to be trained, we are more than happy to come to you!
For Health Consumers:
- Consumer Representative Development Training
For Health Service Staff:
- Consumer Engagement Training
Get in touch for an obligation free quote!
The benefits of training for consumers and health services
Our training and education programs assist health consumers and health staff to increase their confidence and effectiveness to implement health consumer engagement in any setting.
Consumers are empowered to recognise the immense value they bring to health services. Health services receive assistance to meet their obligations under Standard 2 of the National Standards for Safety & Quality in Healthcare.