HETI has been working closely with the Centre for Population Health since April to design and deliver a rolling program of rapid online training for new teams required to take on close contact calls as part of critical COVID-19 contact tracing.

The online training upskills new call team members in readiness for surge periods. The training is delivered via virtual Zoom training sessions combining a range of interactive activities to onboard staff in this essential role.

The virtual training format maximises participant engagement and job readiness through realistic practice activities, group discussion, shared insights, and instructor feedback. Participants take part in online activities such as guided instruction on essential procedures, video/audio demonstration of the call process, break-out rooms to practise making a call, video insights from current teams, and system demonstration on how to use the Notifiable Conditions Information Management System (NCIMS) database to enter contact details.

Video recordings of the virtual training are also now available to Public Health Unit teams across Local Health Districts via My Health Learning and have been shared with Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services to support essential training for their own close contact call teams.

The training program was designed in just seven days involving close partnership between the Ministry and HETI learning designers. The online training program can be delivered to new contact call teams in rapid response to anticipated surges in transmission rates.

For more information contact Trish Wilkinson, Senior Manager, Instructional Design Team – PPIC, HETI * Trish.Wilkinson@health.nsw.gov.au

Close contact calls learning pathway available on My Health Learning

[Image description: Pilot training session with the close contact call team from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care]