Wound management

1. Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) level 7 bachelor's qualification in a health degree or recognised equivalent, and/or an accredited Australasian Lymphology Association Practitioner.
2. Current registration with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or international equivalent, and/or current/eligible registration on the ALA's National Lymphoedema Practitioners Register (NLPR).
3. Current Professional Indemnity Certificate of Currency (held personally or by the student’s place of work) or a letter from current employer confirming insurance coverage.
4. This unit is taught in English, so all students must be proficient in English. For more information, students can visit Macquarie University’s guidelines on English Language Requirements.

At the successful completion of this training program you will be able to:

1. demonstrate evidenced based best practice management skills for the assessment and management of of wounds in people with chronic oedemas and lymphoedema
2. demonstrate safe, effective, patient-centred skills and competencies in delivering high standard of assessment and management strategies for wounds in chronic oedemas
3. uses feedback from teachers, clinicians, peers and patients to inform self-evaluation and critical reflection of knowledge and skill development.

Gary Bain

DipApSc Avondale, BN UTS, MClinEd UNSW

Gary Bain has over 32 years’ experience in wound care working in the clinical specialty of plastics and reconstructive surgery nursing. His interest in acute wounds expanded to include chronic and complex wound care and in 1990 founded the Sydney Adventist Hospital’s Wound Clinic. He was Clinic Manager and lead clinician for the following 25 years.

Gary currently provides education to medical, nursing, allied-health and product-industry personnel. He also provides clinical support to patients and their clinicians in the aged care, primary care and community sectors. These activities are conducted concurrently with his present roles as educator and nurse consultant in wound management at the Mt Wilga Private Rehabilitation Hospital and Berkeley Vale Private Hospital.

Gary is a member Wounds Australia, HEMI Advanced Wound Care Network, the Australasian Lymphology Association and the Australian College of Nursing.

A/Prof Louise Koelmeyer

BAppSc(OT) Usyd, PhD Macq

Louise is an occupational therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience in both public and private settings specialising in breast cancer rehabilitation and lymphoedema management. As Director of the Australian Lymphoedema Education, Research and Treatment (ALERT) program Louise is involved in strategically managing and developing the education, research and treatment arms of the innovative multidisciplinary program. Louise has lead the ALERT Education Program’s redesign and development of their educational offerings to conform the ALA’s Competency Standards and Macquarie University’s microcredentialling and curriculum architecture frameworks.

Louise was awarded her doctorate at Macquarie University in April 2021 in “Enhancing the prospective surveillance and early intervention model of care for women at high risk of developing breast cancer-related lymphoedema.”

Louise has been leading and teaching in the ALERT Education Program since its inception including offering ALA accredited programs under the ALERT banner. She develops and presents education workshops and advanced skill-based units on all aspects of assessment and management of lymphoedema locally, nationally and internationally.

Louise is a current member of the Australasian Lymphology Association (ALA), Australian Society of Breast Diseases (ASBD), the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) and the NSW Lymphoedema Practitioners Group.

Vincent Singh Paramanadam

BPT TNMGRMU, MSc (Psychology) UOM, MPT CCSU, MSc in Cancer Care OBU, PhD USYD

Vincent Paramanandam joined the ALERT program as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2023. Vincent is part of the research team at the ALERT. Before joining the ALERT Program, he was a lecturer at the University of Sydney. Vincent is an accomplished physiotherapist in the field of oncology, with over 20 years of experience as a clinical physiotherapist. Vincent received training in Leduc and FG-MLD methods of lymphoedema management from the Lymphoedema Academy, UK. He established an evidence-based course in oncological physiotherapy that continues to be offered at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India. He is a founding member and the president-elect of the Society of Onco-Physiotherapists of India.

Vincent's research focuses on physiotherapy for cancer sequelae, particularly lymphoedema after breast cancer, and clinimetrics, specifically patient-reported outcome measures. His recent randomised trial on the prophylactic use of compression sleeves to reduce the incidence of arm swelling in women at high risk of breast cancer-related lymphoedema was published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology and received the Best of the Best Oral Presentation award at the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia scientific meeting - 2022. This trial is in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric, indicating its significant impact and importance. Vincent’s outstanding contributions to the field of physiotherapy and cancer rehabilitation have been recognised with numerous awards and honours, including a prestigious USydIS Strategic Scholarship from the University of Sydney for his PhD, a Distinction from the Oxford Brookes University in the UK and the Paper of the Year award from the Journal of Physiotherapy.

Vincent is a member of the Australasian Lymphology Association, an associate member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and Indian Association of Physiotherapists. Vincent also holds a casual academic position (lecturer) at the University of Sydney.

The unit fee is $1100 plus GST. Fees must be paid in Australian dollars by credit card or by invoice on request to alerteducation@mq.edu.au.

Note: It is mandatory for a student to successfully complete the online learning and assessment prior to attending the face-to-face practical learning and assessment days.

Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are provided. Please advise of any special dietary requirements when you complete the registration survey.

1. Click on the 'register here' link to make the payment.
2. Once we have received the payment students will receive a registration survey email. Students are required to upload their current AHPRA Certificate and current Professional Indemnity Certificate of Currency ((held personally or by the student’s place of work) as part of this process.
3. Once we have received the completed registration survey, students will receive their official registration letter and their ProLearn login instructions to commence the online learning.

Cancellations more than three weeks before the face-to-face practical learning and assessment days, when a student has not yet begun their online learning units, will incur a non-refundable administration fee of $100 plus GST, which will be deducted from the student’s refund. No refund will be given if cancellation is made within three weeks of the start date of the face-to-face practical learning and assessment days. Requests for refund will exclude any online units which have been commenced.

In the case where minimum numbers are not reached, the ALERT Program reserve the right to cancel a training program six weeks prior to the delivery of the face-to-face practical learning and assessment component. Students will then be offered alternate  face-to-face practical learning and assessment dates.

Note: If a student has not successfully completed the required online learning prior to the face-to-face practical learning and assessment days, and wish to transfer to another program, the student will incur a transfer fee of $250 plus GST.  This transfer fee will be waived if  a student can produce a medical  certificate and/or suitable evidence.

This training session will be conducted in the Department of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (ground floor of 75 Talavera Road, Macquarie University). Learn more about:

• Accommodation
• Transport
• Parking

Western Australia program venue TBA.

The ALERT Program appreciates the ongoing support of our corporate partners, vital to the success of delivering ALERT Education training programs. We thank you for your commitment.

• Haddenham Healthcare
• Lohmann & Rauscher
• medi Australia
• Medi-Rent
• Molnlycke
• Sentry Medical
• Solventum