Victorian Travelling Fellowship program

What is the Victorian Travelling Fellowship?

The Hon Bronwyn Pike MP, Minister for Health, launched the Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program (VTFP) in 2003 and it is a joint initiative between the Department of Human Services and the Victorian Quality Council.

The primary objectives of the fellowship are to:

• increase innovation and improve patient care by encouraging international learning and information sharing that focus on enhancing healthcare in Victoria so that it meets and exceeds community expectations
• provide ongoing support for the exchange of interventions, methodologies and learning with health professionals outside a fellow’s usual networks, for greater learning and professional development
• develop and maintain contacts with international agencies and individuals demonstrating leading edge practice in health systems and healthcare
• develop a methodology to assess the value of a fellow’s study in relation to practical implementation and professional development
• provide seed funding to enable the practical application of the fellow’s new learnings into the Victorian health sector.

What sort of projects can applicants undertake?

Based on current health system priorities and the policy directions and strategic initiatives of the Department of Human Services and the Victorian Quality Council, the VTFP lists study areas for each round of the fellowship application process. In the 2006-08 round, applicants must provide project plans that are based on at least one of the six designated study area: access, workforce strategies, mental health, workplace culture, chronic disease and quality and safety in healthcare.

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Victorian Travelling Fellowships have many benefits

For fellows
The potential for professional and personal development is significant. The fellowship is directly relevant to the fellow’s work in Victoria and is an opportunity to extend career achievements through the application of international learning. The perspectives, knowledge and inspiration gained from a foreign healthcare system and country can add great value to a fellow’s work and professional life. A fellowship will enable contact with peers outside a fellow’s usual networks.

For the fellow’s workplace
An employee who successfully undertakes a Victorian Travelling Fellowship will return to Victoria with new information, innovations and experiences that are likely to contribute positively to his or her workplace agenda. The application of new knowledge and approaches by the fellow, supported by seed funding from the VTFP, has the potential to lead to better systems and practices for healthcare consumers and professionals.

The Victorian health care system
Improving the quality and safety of the Victorian health system and enhancing its capacity to meet the increasing expectations and demands of society is a priority of government at both State and Federal levels. The Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program has great potential to contribute to this goal. Fellows’ findings will be widely distributed for far-reaching health system improvement.

The Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program offers:

• a new fellowship round each calendar year
• fellowships of two-year duration
• applicants are given the opportunity to apply for funding for both international travel and to embed their project in their health service and for the dissemination of their international learnings upon their return
• fellowships will be targeted to health regions: one will be awarded to a rural application; one to a regional application and two will be awarded to metropolitan applications.

Achievements of the Victorian Travelling Fellows

To date there have been 27 projects awarded fellowships. The VTFP has provided significant benefits to fellows by encouraging identification of innovative practice, development of clinical knowledge, and a broadening of professional networks.

Major lessons learned from the program have involved identification of new models of service delivery, development, integration and quality improvement, methods of implementing systems approaches and a capacity to engage in local and international program comparisons.

Further examples of sustainable longer-term outcomes from participation in the program include:

• employment of dedicated staff to new clinical areas
• establishment of productive links with relevant policy and program areas in the department
• expansion of new models of service delivery
• involvement of professional associations in promoting innovative practice
• creation of innovation-related professional networks
• development of international research
• positive impacts upon patient health and satisfaction with care.

For further information visit the Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program website.

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