New Disability Learning Activities For GPs

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 24 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Treating someone with an intellectual disability can be challenging for general practitioners, which has prompted the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to play an important role in the development of two new learning activities to provide optimal care for patients with an intellectual disability. The two new online learning activities 'Communicating with people with an intellectual disability' and 'Challenging/problem behaviours in people with intellectual disability' are now available for free on the RACGP's online learning platform gplearning at www.gplearning.com.au.

RACGP President, Dr Chris Mitchell, said it was vital that GPs were appropriately trained in communicating effectively when seeing a patient with an intellectual disability.

"Patients with an intellectual disability not only have complex health care needs but also find it difficult to communicate their health problems," Dr Mitchell said. "Communication is at the centre of the doctor-patient relationship and GPs need these special communication skills and familiarity with behavioural management approaches to ensure that patients with disabilities receive the care they need." These new learning modules provide GPs with methods and tools used in interpersonal communication and the ways in which people may communicate when they have difficulty using speech.

Both learning activities were developed with the support of the Australian Government and written by Monash University, Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria (CDDHV) and have been approved for RACGP QA&CPD Category 2 points.

Source
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)