Education and Workforce Capacity

Bridging the gap: building knowledge and empowering professionals

The Rare Care Centre has a key focus on improving the knowledge and awareness of Rare Diseases across the current and future health workforce, in collaboration with national peak bodies, to develop educational content and raise awareness of rare diseases.

The Centre continues to develop resources to support health care professionals in rare disease care, such as the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners module, the National Recommendations for Rare Disease Health Care through our partnership with RArEST and Rare Voices Australia, the Global Nursing Network for Rare Diseases and various presentations across conferences around the globe, particularly about the innovative Model of Care.

Investing in the future workforce is another essential pillar of the Rare Care Centre’s educational strategy. The cross-sector nature of RUDs means we have provided placements for a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate university students. Notable collaborations include the University of Western Australia Medical School, Notre Dame Health Promotion, McCusker Centre for Citizenship Internships, New Colombo Plan scholars (Digital and AI), software engineering and an organisational psychology PhD student. 

In 2024, to increase the awareness of RUD amongst the broader public, the Centre organised several activities for Rare Disease Day (29 February), including a medical student-planned scavenger hunt at the Perth Children’s Hospital Fun on Four and a wall mural on Level 1.

Find out more about our work in the Resources section or our Annual Reports.