What is the Centre for Cancer Education?

Welcome to the VCCC Alliance Centre for Cancer Education. The Centre for Cancer Education combines an interactive learning platform, dedicated development team, subject matter experts, governance structure, extensive education resources, and effective communication to provide a comprehensive and engaging cancer education experience for all.

The Centre is committed to providing high-quality educational programming for the cancer workforce and consumers. We have partnered with the University of Melbourne to launch a globally accessible platform for the healthcare professionals, researchers, educators and consumers.

This initiative ensures equitable access to relevant, targeted educational resources in one location, allowing VCCC Alliance members and non-members to access education. Our platform is not designed to compete with members’ existing educational offerings, but rather to enable greater collaboration while avoiding duplication of resources.

This platform will provide a conduit to high-quality digital education programs and resources, developed, and delivered by the VCCC Alliance and other sector leaders. This will support the development, attraction, and retention of an exceptional future-ready workforce to help improve patient outcomes.

What content will you be able to find?

The Centre for Cancer Education is a globally accessible learning platform that houses online learning resources from across the sector. The learning platform ensures an equal opportunity for our state and national cancer workforce to access a ‘one-stop shop’ of relevant, evidence-based, multidisciplinary, targeted educational programming with intuitive recommendations and pathways to guide learning. Educational materials have been developed by leading oncology experts across the VCCC Alliance and beyond, providing needs-based, online cancer education and training based on best practice and the latest advances in evidence and technology.

Multiple access levels are available including (1) rapid access without login, (2) login and free access and (3) login and paid access.

You can access weekly lecture series, symposia, webinars, podcasts, conferences, workshops, microlearning, online learning modules, micro-credentialled courses, massive open online courses, internships, awards, scholarships, and, a Specialist Certificate, Graduate Certificate, Masters and PhD program. All resources are designed to meet the requirements and expectations of the learners in the digital age providing evidence based, just in time learning, with no or minimal cost.

Content will be regularly added to the site, so ensure you are registered to keep up to date with the release of the latest education and training.

Explore our curriculum areas

With the total burden of cancer increasing as the population increases in median age, changes demographic, and expands distribution into rural and regional areas, there is a need for a Cancer Education Framework that articulates the evolving educational requirements of the workforce. The VCCC Alliance Cancer Education Framework has been designed to guide the professional development of this large and complex cancer workforce. It follows the trajectory of a cancer diagnosis from prevention to end of life care, through the thematic lenses of: Leadership and Non-Technical Skills; Research and Clinical Trials; Clinical Care; and Consumer Involvement, Equity and Inclusion. The framework is designed to reflect adult learning principles and knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes of learners with increased use of problem-based and self-directed learning. 

A comprehensive needs analysis and desktop analysis was conducted in February 2021 on the consumer, research, education, and clinical care workforce. 288 respondents were recorded for the needs analysis that was delivered via an online survey.  This was reviewed by the Cancer Education and Training Advisory Committee (CETAC), Cancer Consumer Advisory Committee (CCAC) and Cancer Research Advisory Committee (CRAC); as well as program steering groups, which in turn informed the development of this framework. The framework was also cross referenced to the state based and national cancer plans and oncology related curricular in the sector. The framework has been released for feedback and will be finalised and released in mid 2023.

With thanks and acknowledgment

The VCCC Alliance acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the lands on which we carry out our work across Victoria and we recognise and value their continuing cultural heritage, beliefs and deep connection with the land and waters.

The VCCC Alliance’s approach of dynamic, inclusive, system-level collaboration coupled with world-class cancer education and the involvement of consumers, has helped us accelerate the translation of scientific evidence into our education and training offerings. The Centre for Cancer Education has been developed in partnership with the University of Melbourne.

As Australia’s first and most ambitious comprehensive cancer centre, we have leveraged the academic, clinical, medical research and educational expertise of our 10 member institutions including:

  • The University of Melbourne

  • Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

  • The Royal Melbourne Hospital

  • St Vincent’s Hospital and St Vincent’s Institute

  • The Royal Children’s Hospital, Western Health

  • The Women’s Hospital, Austin Health and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute

  • WEHI

  • The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

We thank them all for their provision of content expertise to the development, delivery, and review of the programming on the Centre for Cancer Education.

 

The VCCC Alliance is proudly supported by the Victorian Government and this project would not have been achieved without their financial support.