Australian Aboriginal trainee health service management program: a new initiative MARY COURTNEY , LAVERN BELLAIRE, DAVID BRIGGS, L YN IRWIN, JEANNIE MADISON, LEONIE SHORT Mary Courtney is Professor of Nursing and Director, Centre for Nursing Research, Queensland University of Technology. Lavern Bellaire, was formerly Director, Aboriginal Trainee Health Service Management Program, Australian College of Health Service Executives, Sydney. David Briggs is a Lecturer and National President of the Austrlian College Health Service Executives and Lyn Irwin and Jeannie Madison are Senior Lecturers at the School of Health, University of New England. Ms. Leonie Short is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology. “The authors wish to thank Margaret Cuclerhead for her research assestance in preparing this acticle” Abstract This paper explores the development, implementation and evaluation of the Australian Aboriginal trainee health service management program in New South Wales. In 1997, the two-year pilot program commenced with ten trainees. The program consisted of a combination of work-based placements, formal university education and Australian College of Health Service Executives (ACHSE) professional development sessions. The program has allowed trainees to gain professional skills and knowledge and broader work experience, in order to increase their employment opportunities throughout the Australian health care system. Introduction The concept of health has broadened in recent years to include a more comprehensive view of contributing factors that impact on the health of individuals and communities. With the inception of the social model of health care, a need has arisen to view health care service approaches towards populations rather than to individual health needs. The following work examines the rise and implications of this new health movement on Australia’s health system with particular emphasis on the Australian Indigenous population. An examination of several national documents on Australian Indigenous health care reveals there is a need for strategies that increase the involvement and participation of the Australian Indigenous people in the prioritising, planning and decision making about their health care needs. The Australian Aboriginal Trainee Health Service Management Program (AATHSPM) is discussed as an initiative to address these matters. The new public health movement During the 1970s, a shift in health focus from the biomedical approach occurred with the production of a new model of health that considered how to reduce the costs of the health system and provide action to lessen the inequities of service provision and resource allocation (Do Rozario 1994, pp 2-3; Dean & Kickbusch 1995, p 36). The emergence of this new social health model shifted the focus of health from individual responsibility and behavioural change actions to the promotion of public policy for population needs and the notion of enhancing lifeskills (O’Connor & Parker 1995, p 21). Australian Aboriginal trainee health service management program: a new initiative 97