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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts
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Health experts and professionals who identify as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander themselves.
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Advanced life support
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The provision of effective airway management, ventilation of the lungs and production of a circulation by means of techniques additional to those of basic life support. These techniques may include, but are not limited to, advanced airway management, vascular access/drug therapy and defibrillation.
Ref: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide. East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP, 2024. [Accessed 12 February 2025]
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Basic life support
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The preservation of life by the initial establishment of, and/or maintenance of, airway, breathing, circulation and related emergency care, including use of an automated external defibrillator.
Ref: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide. East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP, 2024. [Accessed 12 February 2025]
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Biopsychosocial approach
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A holistic clinical approach to assessment, diagnosis and management that considers biological, psychological and social contributing factors and their complex interactions that impact how individuals may present for care.
Ref: Engel GL. The clinical application of the biopsychosocial model. Am J Psychiatry 1980;137(5):535–44. doi: 10.1176/ajp.137.5.535.
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Capability
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A high-level ability required of a GP.
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Competency
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‘An observable ability of a health professional, integrating knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes. Since competencies are observable, they can be measured and assessed. Competencies can be assembled like building blocks to facilitate progressive development.’
Ref: Frank JR, Mungroo R, Ahmad Y, Wang M, De Rossi S, Horsley T. Toward a definition of competency-based education in medicine: A systematic review of published definitions. Med Teach 2010;32(8):631–37. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2010.500898.
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Continuity of care
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The quality provision of care over time, including the individual patient’s experience of a ‘continuous caring relationship’ with an individual doctor over time, as well as multidimensional models where different providers provide a ‘seamless service’ by integrating, coordinating and sharing information.
Ref: Guilford M, Naithani S, Morgan M. What is ‘continuity of care’? J Health Serv Res Policy 2006;11(4):248–50. doi: 10.1258/135581906778476490.
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Cultural awareness
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Cultural awareness is sensitivity to the similarities and differences that exist between two different cultures and the use of this sensitivity in effective communication with members of another cultural group. Cultural awareness education is the first building block towards cultural safety.
Cultural awareness education is defined as:
An understanding of how a person’s culture may inform their values, behaviours, beliefs, and basic assumptions ... [It] recognises that we are all shaped by our cultural background, which influences how we interpret the world around us, perceive ourselves and relate to other people.
The focus of cultural awareness education is on outcomes for the participant or learner – that is, self-reflection leading to enhanced cultural awareness. It is introductory in nature, and through increased awareness, the learner can enhance their skills in working effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Ref: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Cultural awareness education and cultural and safety training. East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP, 2020. [Accessed 14 February 2025].
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Cultural bias
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Cultural bias may be defined as interpreting and judging phenomena by standards inherent in one’s own culture. In healthcare, this can contribute to misunderstandings that impact diagnosis and consequent management, power imbalances in the patient–doctor relationship, as well as bring up issues of class in some cultures.
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Cultural lens
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The doctor’s unique personal worldview influenced by the cultures that nurtured them. This lens may influence the way a health professional judges and makes assumptions about patients from a different background. Recognising this cultural bias is a necessary step for clinical effectiveness.
A patient’s cultural lens shapes beliefs about illness causation, the nature of a particular illness, and the appropriate treatment and expected outcome; it is therefore important for health professionals to factor this in when developing a collaborative therapeutic relationship.
Ref: Klein HA. Cognition in natural settings: The cultural lens model. In: Kaplan M, editor. Advances in human performance and cognitive engineering research. Vol, 4, Cultural Ergonomics. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., 2004; p.249–80. doi: /10.1016/S1479-3601(03)04009-8.
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Cultural safety
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Cultural safety is an important part of the spectrum of cultural competency and is defined not by the clinician but by the individual patient’s experience. The emphasis for cultural safety is on reflective practice, and acknowledgement and respect for differences rather than awareness of culturally specific beliefs or practices. Cultural safety involves the development of awareness of power imbalances in the therapeutic relationship that can negatively impact the quality of care, and the development of strategies to minimise this.
Practitioner safety is another important aspect of cultural safety. Every clinician should feel safe in their clinic environment, regardless of their cultural or linguistic background.
Ref: The Wardliparingga Aboriginal Research Unit of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards user guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Sydney: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2017.
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Healing
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Healing enables people to address distress, overcome trauma and restore wellbeing. Ways to support healing include reconnecting with culture, strengthening identity, restoring safe and enduring relationships and supporting communities to understand the impact that their experiences have had on their behaviour and create change. Healing occurs at a community, family and individual level. Healing continues throughout a person’s lifetime and across generations. International best practice in healing involves combining traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural healing practices with western methodologies.
Ref: Healing Foundation. Glossary of Healing Terms. 2020. Accessed 14 February 2025.
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Holistic person-centred care
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A core value of general practice that is based on trust and a therapeutic relationship, and that relates to:
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length, depth and breadth of scope: ‘cradle to grave’, multisystem care that is tailored to the individual, is integrated and provides a range of treatment modalities and opportunistic and preventive care beyond the presenting complaint and within the context of a healthcare team.
Ref: Thomas H, Best M, Mitchell G. Whole-person care in general practice: The nature of whole person care Aust J Gen Pract 2020;49(1-2):54–60.
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Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
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A process of clinical reasoning where hypotheses are considered for potential diagnoses based on clinical findings that are presented sequentially.
Ref: Barrows HS. Practice based learning: Problem-based learning applied to medical education. Springfield IL: Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine, 1994.
Linn A, Kildea H, Tonkin A, Khaw C. Clinical reasoning: A guide to improving teaching and practice. Aust Fam Physician 2012;41(1):18–20.
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Privileging/Privileges
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Privileging (a concept from the entrustment literature) is the act of granting a registrar a privilege to a scope of clinical practice after an assessment of their competency.
The milestones of the Profile are privileging points. They define the entitlement to work within a specific scope of practice that gradually expands as competencies are attained with progression across the milestones of training. These privileges are linked with varying levels of supervision and include entering a general practice training program, working in a general practice setting under direct, indirect then ad hoc supervision, admission to Fellowship and ongoing status as a Fellow.
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Reflective practice
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‘The ability to reflect on one’s actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning.’ The ongoing process of a doctor critically reviewing their experiences and thought processes to gain an understanding of themselves, their behaviour and clinical knowledge and skills, in their interactions with patients and colleagues, to inform ongoing learning.
Ref: Schon, DA. The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books,1983.
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Self-awareness
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A professional’s ability to be reflective and develop a clear perception of their own personality, communication style, knowledge base, thoughts, beliefs, possible biases, motivation, values and emotions. This enables insight into how they may be perceived by others and how to minimise risks of problems with communication or professional and therapeutic relationships.
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Self-management
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The ability of individuals to promote their own health by maintaining healthy behaviours, lifestyle choices and concordance with recommended treatments, as well as, where relevant, self-monitoring strategies to minimise impacts of existing chronic diseases. Effective self-management is based on an individual having a good understanding of their condition and when to access healthcare.
Ref: Nichols T, Calder R, Morgan M, et al. Self-care for health: A national policy blueprint. Policy paper 2020–01. Melbourne: Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, 2020. [Accessed 12 February 2025].
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Stages of change
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An intentional change model developed by Prochaska and DiClemente that focuses on the decision-making and motivation stages of an individual in regard to behaviour change.
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Transference/ Countertransference
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‘Transference’ refers to the phenomenon by which individuals ‘unconsciously transfer feelings and attitudes from a person or situation in the past on to a person or situation in the present. The process is at least partly inappropriate to the present’. This process is unconscious and can occur in either direction in the patient–doctor relationship. Risk factors for transference include mental health diagnosis or vulnerable personality, particularly individuals with experience of previous trauma (eg complex post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression or anxiety), perceptions of dependence, associated anxiety about physical or psychological safety, and frequency of contact (inside or outside of the clinic).
‘Countertransference’ refers to the response elicited in the GP by the patient’s transference communications. It is important for GPs to recognise when this is occurring and to address it empathically and respectfully, and to reach agreement with the patient on clear therapeutic boundaries. A potential consequence of unclear boundaries is the development of unreasonable patient expectations that are unable to be met, and that may put the patient at risk or raise the possibility of legal action.
Ref: Hughes P, Kerr I. Transference and countertransference in communication between doctor and patient. Advances in psychiatric treatment. Cambridge University Press, 2000;6(1):57–64. doi: 10.1192/apt.6.1.57.
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Trauma-informed care
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An approach to clinical practice that acknowledges that doctors need to have a holistic view of the individual’s life situation to provide effective healthcare, including recognising the broad impact of trauma and understanding paths to recovery that avoid retraumatisation.
Ref. Trauma Informed Care Implementation Resource Centre. What is trauma-informed care? Hamilton, New Jersey: Center for Health Care Strategies, 2021. [Accessed 12 February 2025].
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