We are one of three health services who partner with the Victorian Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS), working in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital in the care of children with cancer and blood disorders
We are committed to ensuring healthcare professionals caring for children and their families keep up to date with paediatric education and oncology information and participate in regular education, training and professional development opportunities.
Visit the PICS website for more information on short courses, e-learning modules, and paediatric education resources for health professionals and families. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Visit the Peter Mac AYA Education & Training page for more information on a range of paediatric education and training opportunities for professionals across the health, community and education sectors, along with a list of clinical guidelines and other resources by topic
Paediatric education: short courses
PICS coordinates a mixture of face-to-face study days and self-learning study opportunities for staff from ourselves, the Royal Children's Hospital, Monash Health, regional shared care centres, and Allied Health professionals across Victoria. These include:
Foundations in Paediatric Oncology Nursing
Fit-for-purpose Chemotherapy
Allied Health Introduction to Paediatric Oncology
Visit the PICS website for more information, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Together with staff from The Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Children's Hospital (Monash Health) and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, PICS has developed a range of free, evidence-based and peer-reviewed online learning modules for health professionals in the paediatric oncology community.
These resources attract continuing professional development (CPD) hours and support the different models of care. Topics include:
Caring for a child with leukaemia
Paediatric procedural pain
Central nervous system (CNS) tumours in children and adolescents
Is it cancer? A guide to early recognition in children
This 30-minute course is intended for clinicians working in primary care and emergency departments, and provides information to support early diagnosis of cancer in children. This module has been developed by PICS with the Children's Cancer Centres at The Royal Children's Hospital and Monash Children's Hospital. Access the module.
The PICS Framework for continuing professional development for nurses working with children and adolescents with cancer has been developed to provide CPD guidance for advancing practice of the paediatric oncology workforce. Individual nurses, nurse educators and health service leaders can use the framework. Access the framework here.
Late complications
PICS has developed a series of videos for health professionals on survivorship and the importance of long-term follow-up for children and adolescents, following treatment for cancer. Browse the videos.
Paediatric education resources for families and health professionals
PICS has developed a wide variety of publications and resources to educate and support families and health professionals regarding childhood cancer. Topics include:
The Centre for Adolescent Health, together with the ONTrac at Peter Mac Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Service have developed two free online modules in adolescent and young adult cancer care.
Part 1: Cancer Care for Adolescents and Young Adults. This module provides a foundation of understanding around the developmental context of adolescence before exploring topics such as the common cancers affecting young people, how cancer differs in the AYA (Adolescent and Young Adult) population and the importance of clinical trials.
Part 2: Cancer Care for Adolescents and Young Adults. This module explores the range of physical, emotional and psychosocial impacts of cancer and its treatment on young people, effective communication and engagement strategies, and key national AYA cancer care initiatives.
Adolescent and Young Adult Optimal Care Pathway (AYA OCP)
The Adolescent and Young Adult Optimal Care Pathway (AYA OCP) guides health professionals to consider a young person with cancer not just in the context of their disease, but equally in the context of their life stage, to reduce disparity and improve outcomes and quality of care.
Endorsed by Cancer Australia and the Federal Department of Health as Australia’s national pathway to guide best-practice cancer care for adolescents and young adults, the pathway was developed by PICS and the Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Service at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, with an expert reference group chaired by Professor Ian Olver at the University of Adelaide.
Download a detailed cancer care pathway guide and a quick reference guide on the Cancer Council website.
The Victorian Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS) has been established as part of the Victorian Government's cancer reform strategy. Partnering with the Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Health, regional health services, and us, PICS aims to improve Victorian paediatric cancer care, working with the paediatric cancer community to establish coordinated services that are consistent, based on evidence and centred on families.
Cancer Australia and paediatric education
Cancer Australia is a national government agency working to reduce the impact of cancer on all Australians. The Cancer Australia Children’s Cancer website is a trusted source of evidence-based information for children, families, carers clinicians and researchers.
The Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG)
The Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) is the leading body representing the interests of children and adolescents with blood diseases and cancer, and their families. ANZCHOG's mission is to improve outcomes for these children through advocacy, education and clinical and supportive care research.
