Medication Assistance

This is a short, free, 2 hour non-accredited training, facilitated by Tara Kent, who is an Industry Professional with extensive qualifications in human services, disability, law, education and is an Allied Health Professional (Developmental Educator).

Tara is not a Registered Nurse and this course is not delivered as a nurse-led, or medical training. This workshop covers medication assistance from a legal perspective and is facilitated by a person with an undergraduate and post-graduate law degree, who’s previously worked in human rights law and has been working in disability services and assisting with medication for over 20 years.

This covers what support workers and service providers are legally allowed to do regarding medication assistance and describes the legal framework and documentation requirements which must exist to meet duty of care requirements and keep service users safe.

Once this course is completed, the participant will receive a Certificate of Attendance of the ‘Supporting Participants with Medication Assistance’.

For information about the presenter, please have a look at their professional profile at https://www.instinctau.com.au/tara-kent

What does Supporting Participants with Medication Assistance training cover?

This training includes information about:

  • What is Medication and what is the difference between fixed dose and PRN medication?
  • What are the different types of medications and what the routes of medication?
  • What medications are we allowed to assist people with when we are not a Registered Nurse?
  • What safeguards exist around medication assistance?
  • What reporting frameworks exist regarding medication and what paperwork should we be completing when supporting service users to access their medication?
  • What are the 8 rights of medication assistance?
  • What should we do if there are any medication issues, or errors?
  • What is chemical restraint (restrictive practices) and what are my responsibilities regarding chemical restraint?
  • What do we do we if are unsure how to assist someone with medication or don’t know what the medication is?
  • What are our legal responsibilities regarding medication assistance?

This course does not replace the benefits of completing a First Aid course and meeting your expectations regarding being a first responder.

Why should I learn about Medication Assistance?

Medication Assistance is an essential training course if you support any service users who require help with medication. Medication mistakes can be fatal and take the lives of people when incorrect support is provided. Chemical restraint is another important topic that support workers need to be informed in and this training is provided by someone with an extensive background in law and who is a Specialist Behaviour Practitioner (non ABA) still today, registered with the NDIS Commission.

Learning about Medication Assistance and learning how to support people who require medication, is an important step towards increasing your capacity to be a great support worker, provide a safe environment and respond fast and effectively to increase the quality of life of those you provide services to.

How do I complete the training?

The training is facilitated in a zoom (pre-recorded), which can you watch as many times as you like. There is a PDF booklet which includes learning information and a written version of the key information that Tara discusses in the zoom video. There is a short, multiple choice assessment at the end of the training (after you watch the zoom), which allows you multiple chances to demonstrate your skills.  

Please note: A copy of the questions asked in the multiple choice assessment at the end of the training is provided in the downloadable learning guide. Please be mindful of these questions as you watch the zoom, to enable you to complete this correctly when attempted.

I am a registered NDIS provider who gets audited. Will this training be sufficient at audit to prove we meet our duty of care requirements?

Many organisations use our training and have successfully demonstrated their duty of care using this training in an Audit. However, training alone does not demonstrate duty of care, so this training alone, would never be sufficient to meet audit requirements without follow up, reinforcement, policy and procedure pathways supporting the training and good quality assurance systems. In short, Instinct Au is a registered NDIS provider and has successfully used this training to meet audit requirements on multiple occasions, but each organisation must take responsibility for this themselves.