The VCCC Alliance aims to foster an outstanding cancer workforce to maintain and enhance world-leading patient outcomes. The strategy focuses on developing cancer researchers’, clinicians’ and consumers’ leadership skills, providing an accessible platform for high quality cancer education resources, and supporting the translation of knowledge to improve cancer outcomes.
2022-23 saw the realisation of multiple achievements and milestones.
The VCCC Alliance Centre for Cancer Education, officially launched in 2023, is the realisation of the digital oncology learning hub. Created in partnership with the University of Melbourne, the Centre for Cancer Education provides a portal to thousands of educational resources developed by the alliance including recordings of webinars and hybrid events.
The online hub ensures anyone who registers can access the vast trove of courses and events produced, anywhere, anytime. This means the cancer workforce can leverage the same educational opportunities wherever they are in Victoria and beyond, ensuring patients benefit from the equitable upskilling of health professionals, researchers, educations and consumers.
Read about the SKILLED Internship program in 2022-23.
The Nurse-Led Research Hub continues to go from strength to strength with a dedicated audience regularly filling events to capacity. The hub is a practical and interactive initiative that supports connections, research knowledge, and learning opportunities for nurses who work with people affected by cancer.
Through the hub, several online courses have now been developed and are available via the Centre for Cancer Education.
Courses include ‘Fundamentals of cancer nursing’ (see case study below) and another in development during the reporting period, ‘Essential Research Skills for Clinical Nurses’, To be delivered via the University of Melbourne, it is an online, 11-module course for nurses who want to establish or strengthen essential research skills.
"Great day, well thought out and really interesting content. Felt like this was a really great day to use as professional development leave and something that I haven't seen offered anywhere else for the cancer nursing workforce.”
– Participant, Developing Skills for Nurse-Led Practice Change Workshop
The Leadership Academy is a pilot leadership program for the cancer workforce. Launched in 2023 at a gala event at the Melbourne Zoo, the academy has developed a loyal following through a successful webinar series featuring strategically curated content from diverse thought leaders.
The academy aims to foster a network of like-minded individuals across Victoria, working to improve patient care through effective leadership.
The VCCC Alliance Leadership Academy is launched.
"Most leadership professional development does not discuss the importance of followership and focus on the qualities of the driver's personality, I think this presentation was well balanced and informative."
- Participant, Leadership Academy Webinar Series
Care of people affected by cancer in non-cancer wards or units is common across health services. As the number of Australians with a cancer diagnosis continues to grow, the demand for oncology care is outstripped by the availability of specialised nurse resources.
This presents challenges to delivering optimal cancer care and results in feelings of stress among nurses expected to care for people affected by a cancer diagnosis without the requisite specialist knowledge.
Fundamentals of Cancer Nursing is a self-directed, self-paced interactive learning course of six 30-minute modules that participants can complete in their own time, available on the Centre for Cancer Education. The resource was developed by the Academic Nursing Unit at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Victorian Cancer Covid-19 Network (VCCN) Oncology Expert Nursing Group and the VCCC Alliance, to address this key need. It empowers and supports nurses to provide better care for patients, wherever they live.
