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International Handbook on Adolescent Health and Development pp 325–340Cite as

Toward an Adolescent Competent Workforce

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Abstract

Health services throughout the world have largely neglected adolescents who are typically viewed as healthy with little need for healthcare. At a population level, adolescents are receiving fresh attention with clearer understanding of the importance of adolescence as a foundation for future health. There are growing concerns that adolescents have failed to achieve the extent of health gains experienced by younger children. In response, global policy is now prioritizing adolescent health. There is growing recognition that health services are not well orientated to the needs of adolescents and their particular suite of health issues. New strategies and different investments are needed to train the future health workforce to ensure it is better equipped to respond to both conspicuous heath needs and emerging health needs in young people who are inexperienced users of health services. The complexity of healthcare needs in adolescents makes a compelling case for the vertical integration of training—from pre-service (e.g., undergraduate) through to in-service (e.g., postgraduate education and continuous medical education) that spans from primary care to specialist practice, and is inclusive of the major health disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, allied heath). Development of a critical mass of advanced practice skills helps support sustainable education initiatives and drives innovations in educational methods. A particular challenge is how to take training programs to scale while ensuring they remain locally relevant.

Valentina Baltag is staff member of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this chapter, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the World Health Organization.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, 50 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia

    Susan M. Sawyer

  2. Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Susan M. Sawyer

  3. Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

    Susan M. Sawyer

  4. Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland

    Valentina Baltag

Authors
  1. Susan M. Sawyer
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  2. Valentina Baltag
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Correspondence to Susan M. Sawyer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Oklahoma, Medicaid Endowed Professor of Mental Health Emeritus, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

    Andrew L. Cherry

  2. Hellerup, Denmark

    Valentina Baltag

  3. School of Work, University of Central Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

    Mary E. Dillon

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Sawyer, S.M., Baltag, V. (2017). Toward an Adolescent Competent Workforce. In: Cherry, A., Baltag, V., Dillon, M. (eds) International Handbook on Adolescent Health and Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40743-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40743-2_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40743-2

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