New Frontiers in Allied Health: Gathering Pearls of Wisdom

Presenter's Online Access

Enter your access key below to:

• update an existing abstract
• register and upload a new abstract
• register for the conference

The relaxed and sociable multicultural town of Broome is only minutes away from the famous Cable Beach. Founded over a century ago as one of the world’s great pearling ports, it attracted many Asian immigrants lured by the promise of finding their fortune. Over the years, Koepanger, Chinese, Japanese, European and Aboriginal cultures have blended to create Broome’s unique character and charm

Broome is world-famous for its magnificent sunsets. The sight of the crimson sky as the sun sinks below the horizon over the Indian Ocean is a unique spectacle. The moon controls Broome’s famous tides that can reach over 9 metres, revealing the ghostly Stairway to the Moon and occasionally exposing the remains of flying boats sunk in World War II.

You can still soak up the history from the dangerous days of luggers and divers, but today the focus is on the Broome South Sea Pearl and the arts. You can tour a pearl farm, browse the many world-class pearl jewellery studios and art galleries in Chinatown, or see a movie at the world’s oldest outdoor picture gardens.

The Kimberley region covers an area of nearly 423,000 kilometres and is one of the most vast and remote wildernesses on the planet. This immense and ancient land offers a diversity of attractions such as rugged ranges, gently cascading waterfalls, spectacular desert plains, unexpected rainforests, mighty rivers and dazzling white beaches that stretch much further than the eye can see. Huge turtles and prehistoric crocodiles share this land with Australia’s unique marsupials, prolific birdlife, wildflowers, palms and majestic boab trees.Unique Aboriginal rock art can be found in remote locations in the Kimberley region, so ancient and so unusual that its origins are still disputed.

SARRAH has chosen Broome as the location for their 2010 National Conference. As the chair of the organising committee and a resident of this amazing region for the past 8 years I encourage rural and remote Allied Health Professionals to come and relax into ‘Broome Time’ while gathering a few pearls of wisdom from their peers.

Gail Cummins (Convenor)

The conference provides a forum for the rural and remote allied health workforce, bureaucrats, educators and consumers to:

• Present on innovative local solutions to issues that can be applied to address similar issues nationally and across disciplines
• Have input and influence from the ‘grassroots' into national and state health policy and service delivery.
• Demonstrate rural and remote allied health leadership in workforce and service delivery innovation;
• Promote continuing education and professional development activities essential to support allied health professional practice in rural and remote Australia.
• Promote rural and remote allied health research by professionals who practice in these areas and the presentation of research findings.
• Develop supportive networks.
• Promote good health and wellbeing through the delivery of allied health services to and by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in rural communities.

Who should attend

Members of the rural and remote allied health and oral health workforce and managers of these services; allied health and oral health students preparing for a future remote or rural health career; workforce planners, developers and funders of health policy and programs relating to rural and remote allied health and oral health services, educators of allied health and oral health professionals and consumers of these services who are interested in the dynamic developments in allied health and oral health services. 

The allied health and oral health workforce includes, but is not limited to: Aboriginal Health Workers, Audiology; Dentistry, Dental Therapists and Hygienists, Nutrition & Dietetics; Medical Radiation Science (Medical Imaging, Therapeutic Radiography, Nuclear Medicine); Occupational Therapy; Optometry; Orthoptics; Orthotics and Prosthetics; Pharmacy; Physiotherapy; Podiatry; Psychology; Social Work, Speech Pathology and Allied Health Assistants.