Multiple reports have identified problems with the mix and skills of the Australian health workforce and its capacity to respond to the needs of the healthcare environment, both now and in the future.  In the UK, a major program of policy and practice research in relation to health workforce has been initiated.  But in Australia, the fixation continues to be on the number of available doctors and nurses, not the skills and capacities required for the entire health system. The training and education of health professionals remains constrained by the rigidity of current training structures, the continuation of single-discipline training models, the expectations of entrants and industrial requirements.  Important questions for this research stream include:

 Have professional boundaries led to structural inefficiencies in the system?
 Do changing technologies require an different interface between consumers and healthcare 
professionals?
 Do training and education programs need a major shake-up and move away from control by 
professional bodies?
 How do we retain the strengths of the existing workforce training structures while developing new approaches?
 What will be the real impact of an ageing workforce on the Australian health system?

Related events
Roundtable held in 2006: Workforce for the Australian healthcare system in the 21st Century (April 2006, Brisbane)