The University of Queensland will offer a suite of vocational postgraduate courses in 1998 to help busy mid-career health professionals operate more effectively in a changing health system.
The University's Social and Preventive Medicine Department will offer distance education courses to give health professionals throughout Australia flexibility to study according to their work and family commitments.
The Graduate Health Studies program includes streams in general practice, primary health care and addiction studies, at graduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and masters levels.
Students in each stream can take core subjects and articulate into elective subjects from the other two related program streams, depending on interest levels, or career needs.
Graduate Health Studies program co-ordinator Rhian Parker said 70 students were undertaking the first course year via distance mode this year from throughout Queensland.
'We have established a study centre in Cairns for North Queensland students, with support from academics at the University's North Queensland Clinical School,' she said.
'Students are also supported using a variety of technologies, ranging from written materials to teleconferencing, an interactive World Wide Web site, telephone and email.
'We are aware of equity issues and ensure students can choose the method of learning which best suits them, while responding to pertinent health issues such as needs of indigenous and multi-cultural populations.'
Ms Parker said each course was tailored to the working environments of students completing them, and included relevant case studies.
'We are developing new subjects in rural health, children's health and women's health, and these possibly will become separate streams in the future,' she said.
University of Queensland professor of general practice Professor Chris Del Mar, who is co-ordinating the general practice stream, said this stream responded to community needs for professional development.
It also responded to the Commonwealth's General Practice Program to equip GPs with population medicine, information management and research and evaluation skills. The Universities of Queensland, Newcastle and Western Australia are the only three centres funded in Australia under the program.
Professor Del Mar said changes in general practice funding over the past few years had an important effect on the needs of Australian GPs.
'Although completing a course such as this is not required for professional certification, it represents a maturation of the discipline of general practice,' he said.
'General practice has been regarded as an applied discipline, and its intellectual property not recognised. This course aims to protect and enhance that body of knowledge.'
People wishing to undertake course streams in 1998 should contact Ms Parker (telephone 07 3365 5107). Closing date for applications is November 28.
