Future allied health assistants are set to benefit from a prize awarded to Leanne Pagett, from the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT).
Sponsored by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), the prize will allow Leanne to go to the Learning and Skills Research Network Conference (LSRN) and study tour in England and see first hand how the British allied health system works.
Announced at the National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research Conference ‘No Frills’ in Coffs Harbour recently, Leanne will use the prize money to learn about the best ways of training allied health assistants, as the UK approach is similar but more advanced than that evolving in Australia.
The one-off prize was offered to help a VET practitioner become involved in an international network of practitioner researchers. Leanne will join the delegation of VET practitioners, led by Berwyn Clayton, this year’s NCVER researcher of the year.
In congratulating Leanne on winning her prize, Ms Francesca Beddie, General Manager, Research, NCVER, said she had captured the spirit of the prize as she had already started finding researchers she could meet in the United Kingdom in November.
“Increasingly allied health assistants are the hands of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dieticians, or podiatrists. The scope of their role is expanding and soon will require formal qualifications”, said Leanne, who works at CIT’s Centre for Health, Fitness and Wellbeing.
“I want to know more about how UK institutions train and use their educational resources. I also want to know what the experiences are of qualified staff once they’re working.”
On Leanne’s return, she will write a paper on her experiences to be published by NCVER.
Both Leanne’s prize and the VET Researcher of the Year Award are part of NCVER’s building researcher capacity initiative, which strives to increase appreciation for, and excellence in, research about the outcomes of tertiary education and training.
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