Education & Training

The NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service is committed to providing education and training to health professionals throughout NSW and works in collaboration with the National Organ and Tissue Authority to deliver the Professional Education Package.

Dedicated donation specialist staff are available at hospitals throughout NSW and are the first point of call for education and training to health professionals within those hospitals.

Requests for further information regarding education and training opportunities, contact the NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service Education Coordinators on 02 8566 1700 or otds-education@health.nsw.gov.au

Professional Education Package

The Professional Education Package (PEP) provides education and training to health professionals on supporting families in conversations about the opportunity for organ and tissue donation. It is designed to provide participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to support grieving families to make an informed and enduring decision about donation that is consistent with the values and beliefs of their relative and their family.

The PEP is a sequential learning package which comprises targeted components of training:

Introductory Donation Awareness Training (IDAT): Introductory information about donation pathways, clinical processes and family communication related to organ and tissue donation. Audience: The IDAT workshop is a one day training program for Registered Nurses from ICU, ED and OT, junior medical officers, allied health professionals including social workers and other professionals who support families in ICU/ED.
Unit 1 - Core Family Donation Conversation (cFDC) workshop: focuses on detailed information about grief and family reactions to catastrophic news, best practices for supporting families in end of life situations and the donation conversation, and strategies for communicating with families to support informed decision-making. Audience: The cFDC workshop is a two day program for senior medical, nursing and social work professionals from ICU and ED who are involved in supporting families and engaging in conversations with families in regard to end of life. Intensive care medical trainees are required by College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) to complete the cFDC workshop as part of their mandatory training requirements.
Unit 2 - Practical Family Donation Conversation (pFDC) workshop: focuses on practical skills training to build on the cFDC workshop with opportunity to practice challenging scenarios in targeted role plays. Audience: Participants who have attended the two day cFDC workshop.
Family Donation Conversation (FDC) ELearning program: provides material to support the FDC training to reinforce key learnings.

For further information in regard to the national Professional Education Package please visit www.donatelife.gov.au/for-healthcare-workers/professional-training.

Perioperative Workshop

This workshop is specifically designed for perioperative nurses and provides participants with an overview of the organ and tissue donation process. It offers a forum to discuss and explore topics unique to perioperative nurses including the surgical set-up, organ retrieval surgery and post-operative care.

To view available workshop dates and to register for a workshop, please visit www.donatelife.gov.au/for-healthcare-workers/professional-training/perioperative-workshop.

Organ and Tissue Authority - Routine Referral for Organ and Tissue Donation e-learning module

This e-learning module is designed for health professionals to increase awareness of organ and tissue donation and debunk some myths that may prevent timely referral to the NSW Organ and Tissue Donation service of patients with planned end of life care.

To access e-learning module:
www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/groups/NSW_Organ_and_Tissue_Donation_Service/OTDS-RRD/story_html5.html

Organ and Tissue Authority - Eye and Tissue Donation e-learning module

This e-learning module is designed for health professionals to increase awareness of eye and tissue donation and transplantation and outlines your role as a health professional within the process.

To access e-learning module:
www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/groups/NSW_Organ_and_Tissue_Donation_Service/OTDS-Survey/story_html5.html