Victorian Clinical Product Advisors gather in the CBD for inaugural symposium

More than 30 Clinical Product Advisors (CPAs) representing health services across Victoria gathered recently on 23 November 2023 for HSV’s inaugural CPA Symposium in Melbourne’s CBD.

The symposium has been established by HSV as a forum to discuss issues, trends and clinical developments, and to network and build relationships in the sector. Building understanding of the products, their uses and areas for improvement is a key part of the supply chain solutions that HSV provides. Our mission to get the right product to the right place at the right time sits at the core of everything we do.

HSV’s Director Procurement Rebecca Prior said the role of CPAs in health services has evolved at a rapid pace.

“Clinical product advisory is not just about products – the role now involves procurement, supply chain and logistics, analytics, commercial, change management and continuous improvement,” she says.

Rebecca acknowledged the hard work and dedication of CPAs and said the event was a good opportunity for professional growth and networking.

“The challenges we face are complex, but our nursing community has the expertise and resilience to face them. This was particularly evident during peak periods of Covid.

“This symposium is a testament to our collective commitment to clinical excellence and an opportunity for us to learn together,” Rebecca says.

The program for the day included topics on emerging product change, such as neural connectors and improving recall practices, and incorporated valuable feedback and ideas from the CPA community. 

HSV’s Clinical Product Manager Diana Skratulja spearheaded the symposium and is keen for it to become an annual event.

Diana said it was vital for CPAs to have a forum to come together for professional development, knowledge sharing and networking.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and this year was the ideal opportunity. I’m very grateful to all of our speakers and attendees who made this happen today.”

For many CPAs who work alone or in small teams, the group is an important source of support and expertise.

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre CPA Amanda Champion attended the symposium and said she found it helpful to have the group as a support system given the job can be isolating at times.

Sarah Cooper from Mercy Health said she was happy that the group had the opportunity to choose the subjects covered and that HSV listened to the feedback provided.

Louise Niggemeyer from Peninsula Health said the inaugural symposium was outstanding. "I’m looking forward to it becoming a yearly event for our community of practice," she said.

Blake Griffiths from St Vincent’s Hospital said it was great that everyone made such an effort to come together at a busy time of year.

“It gave the health services CPAs a chance to listen to each other and hear about what everyone is doing at a site level,” he said.

As the event closed last Thursday, Diana paid tribute to her predecessor Judy Esson, who is retiring after eight years of service at HSV and 51 years in nursing.