The Immunisation Skills Workshop is a full-day, interactive event, designed to educate and upskill accredited immunisation providers. The March 2024 workshop is focused in the areas of:

  • ethics and consent
  • promoting vaccine confidence
  • how to have difficult conversations.

In this workshop, attendees will hear from immunisation experts and be able to put their learnings into practice through participation in group work and simulated scenarios.

Date: Friday 15 March 2024
Venue: HELP Precinct, Level 1, The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), 50 Flemington Road, Parkville
Course fee: $290 per person (registration will open from 9:00 am, 2 February 2024, via our Education Portal)

Please note:

  • registration numbers are limited
  • this event will be fully catered
  • parking is available onsite at RCH ($34 for full day); time-limited, on-street parking is available in the surrounding streets; RCH is accessible via tram routes 57, 58 and 59
    • if driving, please allow plenty of time for traffic and to find parking.

Registration to the workshop is currently fully committed, please email [email protected] to be placed on the wait list. We will contact you should a seat become available.

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Ms Rachael McGuire
Education Nurse Coordinator, MVEC

Rachael is a Registered Nurse and accredited Nurse Immuniser with a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Education. She has experience immunising at local council, travel clinics and hospital immunisation services, including SAEFVIC. Her special interests lie in vaccine safety, the immunisation of special risk groups and vaccine equity. In 2023, Rachael’s enthusiasm for public health led to her involvement in DFAT-funded projects in Lao PDR, providing education and support to improve decision-making around immunisation policy.

Ms Katie Butler
Education Nurse Coordinator, MVEC

Katie is an accredited Nurse Immuniser and a Clinical Nurse Specialist (Paediatric Emergency, RCH). She is an advocate for trauma-informed, patient and family-centred care, and loves to talk about evidence-based practice. Katie has worked in healthcare, and water and sanitation in Australia, South East Asia and in Pacific Island countries. She is keen to share her passion for immunisation and has special interests in needle phobia, vaccination catch ups and international child health.

Dr Jessica Kaufman
Senior Research Fellow, Vaccine Update Group, MCRI

Dr Kaufman is an expert in vaccine communication. Some of her current projects include evaluating the impacts of vaccine mandates, developing a game to reduce vaccine misinformation, and training community leaders to be vaccine advocates in the Asia Pacific region. Jessica is an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow and an E. H. Flack Foundation Fellow.

Professor Lynn Gillam
Clinical Ethicist, Royal Children’s Hospital
Professor, Health Ethics, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne

Lynn is a Clinical Ethicist of the Children’s Bioethics Centre and Professor in Health Ethics, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne. She is an experienced clinical ethicist, originally trained in philosophy (MA, 1988 Oxon) and Bioethics (PhD, Monash, 2000). Lynn has extensive experience in clinical ethics case consultation and has published widely in bioethics and paediatric clinical ethics. She also provides policy advice and leads research into a range of issues in paediatric clinical ethics –including end of life decision making, management of differences of sex development, information-giving to children, and parental refusal of treatment. Lynn’s research is practically focused, combining methods of analytic philosophical bioethics and qualitative research. At the University of Melbourne, Lynn teaches ethics in the MD program.

Dr Jenny O’Neill
Clinical Nurse Consultant Bioethics, Royal Children’s Hospital 

Dr Jenny O’Neill Jenny is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Nursing Research and in Bioethics at RCH and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne. She completed a PhD in 2020 with her thesis exploring immunisation for young people with disabilities through the School Immunisation Program in Victoria and has since undertaken a Masters in Bioethics. Jenny’s research interests include health equity for young people with disabilities, sexual health needs of adolescents, ethical aspects of holding children for procedures, and family centred care. 

FAQs

  • How is the Immunisation Skills Workshop different from the CVU?

    The Skills Workshop is run for a much smaller group than our Clinical Vaccinology Updates. It is less data-heavy and involves small group activities and participation in simulated scenarios, enabling participants to engage in their learning in a different way to the CVU.

  • Who is the Skills Workshop for?

    The Skills Workshop is for all immunisation providers, whether new to immunising or experienced, who are looking to improve their vaccine communication skills.

  • I see that the themes of this Skills Workshop are different to previous years. If I attended a previous Skills Workshop, will it be useful to attend this one?

    The program for the March 2024 Immunisation Skills Workshop is not exactly the same as previous workshops. However, there is a significant overlap in the themes and skills covered. If you attended a previous workshop, we would recommend waiting for future workshops covering different themes, rather than attending the March 2024 workshop.

  • Can I be put in a group with my friends for the interactive sessions?

    Participants are allocated to small groups for the simulation portion of the Skills Workshop. We try to mix up the groups so that participants can hear the perspectives of other providers working in different clinics/councils. Depending on the registrations, participants may or may not be allocated into a group with their colleagues.

  • How much participation is required?

    The workshop includes presentations, group work and simulated scenarios. All attendees are required to participate throughout the day.

    The group work and simulations are conducted in a confidential and supportive environment. There is no pass or fail; the workshop is safe a place to make mistakes. Active participation will maximise your learning outcomes.

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MVEC is proud to be affiliated with the following partners as part of the Immunisation Skills Workshop