14. Indigenous health (substance use)

Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Health (Substance Use)

(GradCertIndigH(SubUse)) KG012

Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health (Substance Use)

(GradDipIndigH(SubUse)) KF049

Master of Indigenous Health (Substance Use)

(MIndigH(SubUse)) KC068

Overview

There is clear evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals have a unique role in their communities, including clinical service delivery in the areas misuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

The Indigenous Health (Substance Use) program aims to provide these health professionals with further skills and knowledge to work in the prevention and treatment of harm associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in the Indigenous community.

The course was developed in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and is based on national and international best practice in the prevention and treatment of misuse of substance misuse.

Admission

This course is open to persons of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage who are mature, and have a relevant employment background. Please see the resolutions in chapter 30 for details.

The criteria for rating and selecting candidates are:

• number of years of work experience in the alcohol, tobacco and other drug sector
• prior education attained
• workplace assessment/advice/support of employer.

Structure

The graduate certificate and graduate diploma are embedded in the master’s degree. This means that the graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master’s degree are linked with complementary content so that a student may progress through the levels seamlessly.

Also a student can transfer from a higher level and be awarded a qualification with a smaller load. For example a student may be unsure about undertaking study, so only requests admission to the graduate certificate. However, the student finds the study relevant to their work that they decide to continue on to the graduate diploma. Instead of having to reapply and repeat units of study, the student can request a transfer to the graduate diploma with full credit for his/her studies in the graduate certificate.

Alternatively, a student may enrol in the master’s degree, but part of the way through finds that for health or other personal reasons they can’t continue. However, they have completed 36 credit points so can apply to graduate with a graduate diploma, thereby adding a qualification to his/her list of achievements.

Another example is that a year after completing a graduate certificate, a student can apply to undertake the graduate diploma and, if accepted, will be given credit for the units of study completed in the graduate certificate.

Note that time limits do apply for returning postgraduate students. See the faculty's credit policy on its website:
www.medfac.usyd.edu.au/currentstudent/postgrad/index.php.

Transfer between levels is not automatic. A student must request a transfer. The request is considered by the course coordinator in the first instance, who makes a recommendation to the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies (see chapter 30), who makes the final decision. More information is given in chapter 8.

The course will run in block release mode. For the graduate diploma there are six blocks of face-to-face study at the University's Camperdown Campus, each of around one week's length. After each block, the student will have a series of learning tasks to do at home or in their workplace, amounting to 50 hours work.

Students who continue on to the master's degree undertake a further two units of study from the list of electives below. Other subjects that are available through the Master of Public Health program may be taken if first approved by the course coordinator, Associate Professor Kate Conigrave.

The graduate certificate comprises four core units of study (see table on core units of study below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

The graduate diploma comprises six core units of study (see table on core units of study below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

The master’s degree comprises six core units of study and 12 credit points of electives chosen from the list of electives (see tables on core and elective units of study below and chapter 31 for unit of study details).

Indigenous health (substance use) core units of study

Indigenous health (substance use) elective units of study

Further enquiries

Associate Professor Kate Conigrave
Phone: +61 2 9515 8650
Fax: +61 2 9515 5779
Email: