Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program

Established to create opportunities for innovation and improvement in patient care and launched in May 2003, the Victorian Travelling Fellowship Program (VTFP) is a joint initiative between the Department of Human Services and the Victorian Quality Council.

The VTFP provides health professionals, clinicians and managers working within the Victorian public health system with the opportunity to conduct international investigations into innovative responses to priority areas in public health that will be of value both professionally and personally. The VTFP also provides fellows with the opportunity to disseminate and implement their findings upon their return to Victoria. Fellowships open an important avenue for international contact that many health professionals may otherwise find difficult to access.

The objective of the fellowships is to increase innovation and improve patient care by encouraging international learning and information sharing that focuses on enhancing healthcare in Victoria so that it meets and exceeds community expectations. Fellows have the opportunity to study innovative international health systems and best practice and to exchange interventions, methodologies and experiences with overseas colleagues. Upon return to Victoria, the fellows receive seed funding to implement their project findings in their own health service, as well as enabling the wide dissemination of their learnings across the health sector for the benefit of the Victorian healthcare system.