Domestic and Family Violence Training

Recognise, Respond, Refer: Training for Practice Nurses and Indigenous Health Workers

Domestic and family violence includes violence against women, children, the elderly and others. It is not just physical, it includes emotional, sexual, social, spiritual, financial, verbal abuse and stalking.
In fact, one in three women attending general practice will have experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their partners - unsuspecting to PNs, AHWs and GPs.
There are simple measures that Practice Nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers can take to assist women and children experiencing family violence.

General practice has been identified as organisations that have the opportunity to identify those who may be vulnerable to domestic and family violence. Surveys indicate that clinicians often do not enquire about domestic violence because of a perceived lack of training and insufficient time.
In conjunction with AGPN, Lifeline has developed specialised training in this area. It will assist you to develop skills to deal effectively with family and domestic violence and help you to respond to this challenging area. Ultimately, you will be assisting women and their families to live without fear and improve their health and well being.

This training will assist you to develop skills to deal effectively with family and domestic violence and help you to respond to this challenging area.

You will be able to:

Recognise the language and behaviour which may indicate a person is experiencing domestic and family violence
Respond to people experiencing family violence by being able to listen, believe and validate their experience
Refer patients experiencing domestic and family violence to relevant local support services
Conduct a risk assesment
Be aware of the regulatory requirements in relation to child protection issues
Use appropriate interpersonal skills and general knowledge to identify and respond in an appropriate manner to domestic and family violence
Explore issues relevent to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Education
With support from Government, free workshops are being held nationally.
To register for a work shop click here for Lifeline Australia.

eLearning
Lifeline Australia is offering the DiVeRT Domestic Violence Response Training workshop online. This free training option is geared towards PN's and AHW's who may not be able to attend any face to face workshops.
For more information on the eLearning training package click here for the eFlyer.

Assistance to PNs and IHW’s
Travel subsidies are available to those PN’s and AHW’s attending the training who live in RAMA 3-7.
For an application form click here.

Assistance to Practices
Payments are available to practices for locum relief. This enables staff to attend the training at no cost to the practice.
For an application form click here.

The PIP Domestic Violence Incentive aims to encourage general practices in rural and remote areas to act as a referral point for people experiencing domestic violence.
To be eligible for the PIP Domestic Violence Incentive, practices need to:

Ensure that an appropriately trained and qualified PN or AHW is available to act as a referral point to domestic violence support services. This can be achieved by attending the above training.
Participate in the PIP
Be in RRMA 3-7 area

For more information on the PIP click here.

Promotional Material
The DiVeRT Flier is available to be printed and distributed to Divisions, General Practices, Practice Nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers.

Contact
For further information please contact

Lynne Walker
Ph: (02) 6228 0820
E: lwalker@agpn.com.au

Danielle Dalla
Ph: (02) 6228 0843
E: ddalla@agpn.com.au

For more information click here for Lifeline Australia.

Domestic Violence: A common hidden problem in general practice
This article was published in the Practice Manager 2011; 2: 30. The Practice Manager is the national journal of the Australian Association of Practice Managers.
www.aapm.org.au