Allied Health Insights Vol. 1, No.21. Rural Allied Health

In this edition, we’re jumping off the beaten path for a gander at rural allied health, examining rural AHP workforce shortages, the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway, and AHP innovation made necessary by the COVID pandemic.

There are well-documented, enduring difficulties attracting and retaining healthcare workers including allied health professionals in Australian rural and remote areas, and we have seen a number of programs and initiatives by state and federal governments, peak bodies and institutions to attempt to remedy this—from funding allocations, to overseas recruitment blitzes, to direct trainee placements.

So why are we experiencing “endemic shortages” of AHPs in the bush? One study suggests that sufficient PD pathways and prospects for career advancement are central to attracting more allied health professionals to rural health settings; another reason may be a lack of effective support model, which is something that a formalised rural generalist pathway for AHPs could remedy.

The Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway—in development since 2013 and whose pilot program concluded this year—aims to address some of the challenges associated with allied health workforce shortages that are particularly acute in rural and remote communities.

While the rural generalist definition is relatively well known for medical practitioners—and its “Swiss Army knife generalist mindset”—we’re still learning about what rural generalism is as it relates to allied health. Allied health rural generalists are ostensibly trained in clinical and non-clinical specialist skills and supported in a way that makes their skillsets more readily accessible to rural communities. It’s a strategic type of support for rural allied health professionals with a long-term view to resolving rural health workforce issues; earlier this year, Mt Isa-based physiotherapist Andric Lu became the first person in Australia to complete the Allied Health Rural Generalist Program, a university-based implementation of the pathway.

We’re delighted in this issue to speak with Chief Allied Health Officer for Queensland Liza-Jane McBride, and Ilsa Nielsen, who leads the Rural and Remote Portfolio as the principal workforce officer for the Allied Health Professions Office of Queensland. They discuss the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway’s development and rollout.

Also pivotal to the implementation of the Pathway has been the peak body Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH). SARRAH CEO Cath Maloney joined us for a chat about giving a voice to rural allied health, and what that really means.

We hear from Anna Barwick, a rural pharmacist who created the first pharmacist-led telehealth service in Australia. Anna chats to us about how this innovation, made necessary during the pandemic, can further assist rural community health outcomes.