Students to receive more training in work injuries

Friday, 15 December 2000

Medical students at Adelaide University will receive expanded training in workers' compensation issues under a new agreement between the University's Medical School and the WorkCover Corporation.

The collaboration, announced today, recognises the crucial role doctors play in treating the victims of workplace injury and illness. It will extend the workers' compensation component of the University's medical undergraduate curriculum, particularly in the area of managing soft tissue and related injuries, beginning in the 2001 academic year.

Medical consultants employed by WorkCover will advise on curriculum development and assist with aspects of teaching in the medical course, and the Corporation will also provide access to specialized databases and funding for administrative support. The agreement is a first for WorkCover in Australia.

The Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Derek Frewin, said the Medical School was implementing a new curriculum which would ensure that Adelaide University medical graduates were equipped to deal with the changing needs of the community through the early decades of the new century.

"This collaboration presents a unique opportunity for the medical profession and industry to work together and increase medical students' exposure to areas of training relevant to their future careers," Professor Frewin said.

WorkCover Corporation Chief Executive Officer Mr Keith Brown said medical practitioners were the primary treatment deliverers for injured workers.

"They play a pivotal role in the ongoing management of the injury and injured person, from a clinical and treatment perspective, as well as overseeing the client's return to safe work," he said.

"The extension of training in treatment of the work injured will enhance the ability of the next generation of doctors to provide an expanded range of services for their patients."

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