Gold Coast Public Health Network (GCPHN) contracted Benchmarque Group to conduct two face to face day workshops and a further two virtual educational sessions for new-to-practice General Practice Nurses for foundational Immunisation knowledge and skills.  This work will be achieved during October and November 2023 in two venues based in Robina and Upper Coomera or virtually via Zoom.

This is about empowering less experienced or newer Practice Nurses to gain confidence in the administration and management of vaccines, following the Australian Immunisation Handbook guidelines, local Public Health recommendations and best practice policies for their workplace.

The Gold Coast PHN communicated that it would like to support the upskilling and knowledge of new to general practice nurses around the administration and management of vaccines.  Vaccines are provided by the Australian Department of Health, to each State and/or Territory, who distribute on to General Practice for the purpose of Immunising the local community against communicable diseases.  This is called the National Immunisation Program (NIP).  

We developed two face to face workshops will explore “Fundamentals of Immunisation”.  This will progress the student through the National Immunisation Program, Queensland specific vaccinations, Cold Chain Management and vaccine administration.  The purpose is to build a solid base of immunisation and vaccine management knowledge. The student will be informed where correct State, National and local resources are found, how to implement them in a practical setting and for reporting, management purposes.  The student will attend a 7 hour face to face workshop on the Gold Coast in an interactive session involving theory, demonstrations and practical, hands-on learning.

Two virtual sessions for “Immunisation Catch-up Masterclass” will in 2.5hrs address how to plan and create a vaccination catch-up schedule where children who have missed their National Immunisation Program scheduled vaccines have a comprehensive program created using Australian Immunisation Handbook and/or the Catch-up calculator. Students will explore vaccine catch-up principles, learn where to source the vaccination information and how to comprehend catch-up tables then apply them whilst creating a schedule, using real-life scenarios.  By the end of this session the Student will have a basic understanding and confidence to create catch-up schedules in their workplace for their clients. 

Gold Coast Primary Health Network (GCPHN) is an independent, not-for-profit company, one of 31 Primary Health Networks tasked to identify the health needs of local communities, and to fund and improve primary health services, to keep people well and out of hospital.

GCPHN work closely with public, private and non-government organisations in the primary healthcare sector and across the acute care sector to improve the health and well-being of the Gold Coast. GCPHN is building ‘one world class health system for the Gold Coast’. To achieve this goal, GCPHN work closely with diverse groups, sharing knowledge and skills, working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our primary care system, ensuring it meets local needs.

Having worked with GCPHN previously, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with them to deliver training specific to the requirements of Nurses in their catchment.

This course was adapted from the existing Practice of Immunisation in Primary Healthcare online content, face to face workshop, other educational materials and Catch Up Masterclass workshop scenarios.  This educational work was altered to reflect Queensland and specifically the Gold Coast, using  a blending of additional information from Gold Coast Public Health, Immunise Gold Coast and Gold Coast Public Health Network resources, communication and knowledge. 

The student attending will have direct information pertaining to their community location and workplace. Have access to Gold Coast specific documentation and opportunities plus resources for future reference.

Course writer:  Ali Maggs - as a Gold Coast local and Nurse Immuniser, adapting and creating these workshops allowed me to emphasise the content in a local context for best practice in Immunisation administration and management. I enjoyed collaborating with the Gold Coast PHN, Immunise GC and the Gold Coast Public Health Unit.

The outcome of these four workshops will enable nurses within General Practice to feel more confident and knowledgeable around the administration of vaccines,  correct stock handling and management of vaccines.  Know what to do with adverse events following an immunisation, or managing cold chain breaches. Creating and implementing vaccination catch-up programs.

This in turn will lead to less administration errors, the viability of vaccines during storage and a skilled Practice Nurse who uses best practice principles within their workplace.  This new generation of nurses are the nurse educators of tomorrow, with the transfer of knowledge passed forwards.