Problem
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety presented 148 recommendations to improve the lives of people receiving aged care services. Numerous recommendations focussed on aged care workforce education and training. Knowledge and skills gaps in the current and projected aged care workforce were identified.

Partnership
Between July 2023 and June 2024, a partnership comprised of the six Victorian Primary Health Networks and a team of 21 subject matter experts co-designed and developed an education program for residential aged care staff. The team included a resident-consumer expert, 16 geriatricians, a registered nurse / health coach, a lifestyle medicine practitioner, and two First Nations clinicians / academics.

Solution
A program named BERTIE (Better livEs for Residents Through Innovative Education) was co-designed and developed by the team. Twenty online, on-demand and consumer-informed education modules underpinned by case based learning theory were developed and deployed. The education modules addressed key learning objectives and topics including communication, advance care planning, dementia, identifying acute deterioration, palliative and end of life care. Each module comprised a 6-minute video, a 3-question multiple choice quiz to test learning, and a summary sheet with resources. BERTIE is hosted by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on the Aged Care Leaning Information System (ALIS) and is available to the aged care workforce Australia-wide. User experience and educational impact will be evaluated in the next phase of the project.