Ausmed Podcasts

Nobody can have lived experience of everything. It can't be taught, only told — which is the whole idea behind the Ausmed Community Series.

Lydia Garrett joins us from Igniting Change, a deliberately tiny Melbourne charity that exists to find stories like these and connect the people telling them with the people who need to hear them.

Lydia travelled the country to make the series, sitting down with three organisations doing extraordinary work — Giant Steps, Purple House and Transcend Australia — and with the people at the heart of each one.

It's about what listening actually changes, and why some things only land when they come from the person who lived them.

The Igniting Change Community Series is free and live now.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

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Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

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'Tis the season! — every provider in the country is sitting down to review next year's training plans, with the same question: is mine right?

Plan, implement, evaluate. Most organisations are good at the first two.

We've cooked up four training plans for a blind review from Michelle (hot takes incoming), with governance and guidance from Zoe and Karen.

The usual training plan pitfalls turn up along the way and a few will look uncomfortably familiar.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Free 2027 Training Plan Benchmarking Tool for Aged Care
• Guide to Conducting Annual Training Plan Reviews By Zoe Youl
• Playback and stay up-to-date with Ausmed Webinars and Events
• Subscribe to The Build | New Home of Building Workforce Capability

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your workforce is your greatest asset. Everyone says it. The ability to see it is often lost.

Zoe, Michelle and Karen are back in action, together again in Ausmed's new Melbourne office. First, quick lap of where everyone's been — smashing conference panels, writing articles for a new publication, a PhD scholarship announcement, and a lesson on how (not) to read financial planning documents.

Then we dive into value-based healthcare. Karen walks through the virtuous cycle linking workforce capability to clinical competence, care quality, patient outcomes and staff experience — and back around again. They cover how the Triple Aim became the Quintuple Aim, why skill-based rostering is a culture change and the difference between capability and capacity.

The tension is the same across the care sectors — matching the right skills to the people who need them, with the resources you actually have. Maybe it isn't a workforce shortage. Maybe it's a shortage of visibility.

The conversation wanders, as it tends to, but as always, the tangents earn their keep.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Subscribe to The Build | New Home of Building Workforce Capability
• Value-based Health Care Explained | What it means for Australian Hospitals
• Value-based Care: Why your Workforce is the Missing Link
• Large NDIS providers have a different problem | Article by Zoe
• Aged Care Workforce Shortage in 2026 | What Leaders Can Do About It
• Win Consultations Sessions with Dr Karen Patterson

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's actually mandatory in the NDIS?

Karen takes on hosting duties, with Zoe and Liz Sakal (Ausmed's Disability Team Lead) in the hot seat to discuss the present and future of the NDIS. 

They cover what's changing across the Future Generations + Integrity & Safeguarding reforms, why the Code of Conduct is the constant underneath it all, and Zoe's three-layer approach to working out what's genuinely required for mandatory training.

The lens is NDIS, but capability is the shared strategy.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Know My Rights | NDIS Micro-learning Platform
• Register for Upcoming Webinars | NDIS Provider Capability Series
• About KMR by Will Egan | Ausmed Stories

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When NDIS support workers understand the rights of the people they care for, the care changes.

Zoe and Karen are joined by Liz Sakal — Ausmed's Disability Team Lead, who led the team behind the Know My Rights project: a national micro-learning platform built in partnership with Inclusion Australia and funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Grant Program.

They cover how 15 micro-learning modules were built around five cohorts in the NDIS community, the co-design process that shaped every module and the Generative Learning Experiences that lets participants rehearse advocacy conversations freely.

Know It. Show It. Act On It.

 

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Know My Rights | NDIS Micro-learning Platform
• Register for Upcoming Webinars | NDIS Provider Capability Series
• About KMR by Will Egan | Ausmed Stories

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if staff could verify what they already know and save time on training they don't need?

This week the Capability Crew are joined by special guest Ben Quartermaine, Product Manager who has been leading the Learning & Growth team building Ausmed's new Knowledge Verification feature.

Ben unpacks what Knowledge Verification is — a short pre-assessment that lets staff demonstrate existing knowledge against a module's learning outcomes, so they only sit through the training they actually need. Then together, they revisit four of the sharpest moments from last year's mandatory training episode and see how KV impacts these issues.

If you've ever had to sit through a module you wrote yourself, this one's for you.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Try the KV Savings Calculator | Knowledge Verification in Ausmed Learn™
• KV Launch Webinar with Live Demo from Ben
• We've Been Measuring the Wrong Thing | KV Article by Zoe
• "New software aims to cut unproductive aged care training by 40%" | The Weekly Source
• Capability Through High-Value Training Systems | KV Article by Karen

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back! And we have lots to catch up on. Zoe, Michelle and Karen return for a wide-ranging conversation on what has been an exciting start to the year.

Karen brings a global and systems-level perspective, Michelle shares a real-world pulse check (and her phone number) and Zoe rounds out the conversation with what’s happening inside Ausmed!

A lot covered. A lot changing. Plenty more to come.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow us on Linkedin →  Zoe, Michelle, Karen

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Read more about KV | Knowledge Verification in Ausmed Learn™
• "New software aims to cut unproductive aged care training by 40%" | The Weekly Source
• Capability Through High-Value Training Systems | KV Article by Karen
• Cynthea Wellings PhD Scholarship | ACU
• Know My Rights | Ausmed's NDIS micro-learning platform
• Learn more about generative learning experiences | Ausmed GenLX
• Read the AI event recaps and insights here | Thought Leadership
• Do The Renewal Reviewal | Campaign for Aussie Nurses
• Subscribe to our weekly newsletter | Ausmed Toolbox
• Learn more about Ausmed Perform™ | Workforce Capability System
• See what's coming up on the calendar | Ausmed Events

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a year it’s been.

In this final episode of the season, Zoe, Michelle, and Karen come together (in person for the very first time!) to reflect on the conversations, challenges, and learnings that shaped their year in capability.

It’s a relaxed, laughter-filled episode that looks back at what’s shifted across the healthcare landscape, how their own thinking has evolved, and what themes they’ll be taking into 2026.

Part reflection, part reset — and a chance to reconnect with what capability building is really all about.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

Resources:

• Subscribe to our weekly newsletter | Ausmed Toolbox
• See what's coming up on the calendar | Ausmed Events
• Hear what others have to say | Customer Stories
• Learn more about Ausmed Perform™ | Workforce Capability System

Thanks for listening! See you next year!

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inclusion isn’t just about what you teach — it’s about what you’re willing to unlearn.

In this bonus episode, Zoe sits down with nurse educator and disability advocate Vanessa Cameron to unpack what inclusion really looks like in education.

Drawing on both lived experience and years of clinical teaching, Vanessa explores how thoughtful design, reflective practice, and unlearning outdated assumptions can help make learning safer and more equitable for everyone.

This is a practical and honest conversation about rethinking educational design — and the real work it takes to build psychologically safe, inclusive spaces where capability can truly grow.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

UPCOMING EVENTS: Building Workforce Capability with AI | Melbourne, VIC

Resources:

• Follow Vanessa Cameron | LinkedIn
• Vanessa Cameron Education & Consulting | Website
• Disruptor Diaries Podcast | Spotify
• Disruptor Diaries Podcast | Apple Podcasts
• Creating an Inclusive Healthcare Workplace | Guide
• Psychological Safety with Rasa Kabalia NP | Capability Corner
• Manager's Guide to Creating a 'Learning Culture' | Guide
• Inclusion Culture to Support Aged Care Workers | Training Requirements
• Inclusion Culture to Support Individuals | Training Requirements

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Performance reviews get a bad rap — and for good reason. They’re often rushed, compliance-driven, and disconnected from what really matters: people, capability, and growth.

In this episode, Zoe, Michelle, and Karen are joined by Emma Piercy, Learning Innovations Lead at Ausmed, to explore why performance management often falls short in healthcare — and how it can be redesigned to work better for everyone involved.

Together, they unpack the real reasons reviews get delayed or avoided, the damage that can do to culture and trust, and how a culture of reflection and feedback helps you move from reactive firefighting to proactive capability-building.

Emma also lifts the lid on Ausmed Perform™ — a new performance management tool built specifically for healthcare — and what early pilot results reveal about how it’s saving time, improving quality, and strengthening retention.

Whether you’re still stuck in spreadsheets or already rethinking your approach, this episode offers practical insights, a few rants, and a whole lot of heart.

Contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Ausmed on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram

EVENT INFO: Building Workforce Capability with AI | Melbourne, VIC
Nov 20, 2025 — Location TBA — Early Registration Now Open

Resources:

• Learn more about Ausmed Perform™ | Workforce Capability System
• Performance Reviews in Healthcare | Emma's Toolbox Guide
• Demo of Ausmed Perform™ | Launch Webinar
• 10 Takeaways from the Gold Coast | AI Event Recap
• Generative Learning Experiences | Ausmed AI Features

Learn More About Ausmed: https://lnk.bio/ausmed/organisations

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.