News

Mallee has first Aboriginal Health Practitioner

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 10:58:00

A Swan Hill woman has become the first Aboriginal Health Practitioner in the Mallee, after being registered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Jody Croft was previously an Aboriginal Health Worker for MDAS at Swan Hill, but has spent the past 18 months upgrading her skills and qualifications to the level of Aboriginal Health Practitioner.
Jody is now one of just eight registered health practitioners in Victoria, and among only 324 registered Australia-wide.  Aboriginal Health Practitioners must complete Certificate Three and Four training in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, and demonstrate 500 hours of clinical practice.
“The addition of an Aboriginal Health Practitioner to our Swan Hill and Kerang health centres is a fantastic milestone for MDAS, but, just as importantly, for Jody,” said MDAS Swan Hill Health Manager Judy Lamb.
“Qualification as a practitioner will allow Jody to have more autonomy within our practice and to perform more clinical roles beyond the capacity of an Aboriginal Health Worker,” Ms Lamb said.
Jody is a Barngala woman from South Australia, but has lived at Swan Hill for 13 years.  She said she did the practitioner training to be able to provide a better service to the community.
“It means I can do a lot more follow up care and be more involved in the GP management plans and team care models that we use here at MDAS, particularly in the care of our Elders,” Jody said.
“When you are a health worker the community places a lot of faith in you regarding the skills you have.  All the training you do to upgrade your knowledge comes back to your role in the health service.”
Jody said she was pleased there were another two health workers currently undergoing certificate four training and a third about to start training.
“I plan to keep adding to my skills with a Diploma course in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthcare – continuing to improve our skills as workers and practitioners allows us to provide better health care to our clients,” Jody said.