Master of Remote Health Practice

No longer offered from 2011

The Master of Remote Health Practice is a 72-unit program which is offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The course articulates with the Graduate Certificate in Remote Health Practice and the Graduate Diploma in Remote Health Practice and the sequentially developed topics allow progression through the three awards. Students in the programs undertake a range of core topics and are then able to select a specialty stream in either Nurse Practitioner or Management. Students who do not wish to undertake either of the above specialty streams can compile their own individual study plan comprising elective topics.

The program was developed in collaboration with the Council of Remote Area Nurses and is offered on an external basis through the Centre for Remote Health in Alice Springs.

Students who hold the graduate certificate or the graduate diploma are granted credit for topics already taken.

• Admission requirements
• Course aims
• Learning outcomes
• Program of study
  
  

Admission requirements

Applicants who do not hold either the Graduate Certificate in Remote Health Practice or the Graduate Diploma in Remote Health Practice must normally hold an approved degree or an equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution and have had not less than two years experience as a practising health professional in a remote area.

However, the Faculty Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.

Course aims

The Master of Remote Health Practice is designed for health professionals experienced in working within the remote and Indigenous context to advance their knowledge of the discipline of Remote Health. It aims to further extend their current knowledge across three major content areas that underpin practice within the discipline of Remote Health locally, nationally and internationally. These content areas are:

• the remote context – an inseparable work and living environment characterised by unique cultural, linguistic, social, economic, geographical, and climatic conditions
• public health – a population based framework for planning, developing, managing and evaluating initiatives and programs to promote health and prevent disease
• application to practice – the inter-professional and profession specific skills, knowledge and attributes required for competent, confident, accountable remote and Indigenous health practice within a primary health care framework.
  

Learning outcomes

• practice autonomously within their own professional boundaries, contributing unique skills and knowledge to the multi-disciplinary team providing health care within isolated, remote and Indigenous contexts
• extend their knowledge of the remote context, social determinants and public health through development of research capabilities and clinical expertise
• apply knowledge and skills to work competently and confidently with the people and professionals of remote areas to keep remote and Indigenous people well and manage ill-health
• be considered an expert in their field with leadership capacities that will be applied in specific areas of remote health service delivery
• listen well, respond constructively and convey their knowledge, understanding, reasoning and decision making in both written and spoken form and in a culturally safe manner
• advocate for sustainable, efficient, accessible and equitable health service delivery to improve health outcomes for remote, isolated, marginalised and Indigenous people worldwide
• possess a high level of resourcefulness in regards to organising their activities, prioritising their tasks, managing their time productively, and utilising goods and services in a socially and environmentally responsible way
• recognise that the world is dynamic and changing, and that isolated practice requires a commitment to continually updating skills and knowledge in response to the changing health technologies and health care needs of remote and Indigenous people locally, nationally and internationally
• work cooperatively and productively across the diverse geographical, cultural, social and economic settings of Remote and Indigenous Health practice showing respect to the ideas and perspectives of Indigenous persons and negotiating and resolving conflict or difficulties in a culturally safe and decolonising way.
  

Program of study

To qualify for the Master of Remote Health Practice, a student must complete 72 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the following program of study.

Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.

The research project and elective topics must be chosen in consultation with the course coordinator and must be in an area relevant to the student&##39;s present or future practice.

Core - Year 1 & 2 topics

31.5 units comprising

 REMH8001  Context of Remote & Indigenous Health  (4.5 units)
 REMH8002  Remote & Indigenous Primary Health Care  (4.5 units)
 REMH8013  Public Health Principles for Remote & Indigenous Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8014  Ethics Power and Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8015  Research and Evidence Based Decision Making  (4.5 units)
 REMH8022  Research and Evaluation for Remote & Indigenous Health  (4.5 units)
 REMH8023A  Remote & Indigenous Research Dissertation  (4.5 units)

Plus either a Management or Nurse Practitioner specialty stream or Option topic and Elective topics:

Stream - Management - Year 1 & 2 topics

18 units comprising:

 REMH8016  Foundations of Remote Health Management; People, Planning and Money  (4.5 units)
 REMH8017  Remote Health Services: Organisation, Resources and Workforce  (4.5 units)
 REMH8018  Remote Health Management; Policy and Leadership  (4.5 units)
 REMH8024  Remote Primary Health Care Governance, Quality and Safety  (4.5 units)

Plus 22.5 units from Elective topics:

Stream - Nurse Practitioner - Year 1 & 2 topics

36 units comprising:

 HLTH8011A  Remote Nurse Practitioner 1A - Family Nursing  (3 units)
 HLTH8011B  Remote Nurse Practitioner 1B - Family Nursing  (3 units)
 HLTH9012A  Remote Nurse Practitioner 2A- Chronic Disease and Ongoing Health Problems  (3 units)
 HLTH9012B  Remote Nurse Practitioner 2B - Chronic Disease and Ongoing Health Problems  (3 units)
 HLTH9015A  Nurse Practitioner 3A: Extended Practice and Professional Issues  (3 units)
 HLTH9015B  Nurse Practitioner 3B: Extended Practice and Professional Issues  (3 units)
 HLTH9019  Pharmacotherapeutics 2 for Extended Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8006  Remote Advanced Nursing Practice & Pharmacotherapeutics 1A  (4.5 units)
 REMH8007  Remote Advanced Nursing & Family Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8018  Remote Health Management; Policy and Leadership  (4.5 units)

Plus 4.5 units from Elective topics:

Stream - Option topic

4.5 units comprising:

 REMH8017  Remote Health Services: Organisation, Resources and Workforce  (4.5 units)

Plus 36 units from Elective topics:

Electives - Year 1 & 2 topics

 REMH8003  Fundamentals of Remote Allied Health Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8004  Remote Medical & Indigenous Health Practice 1  (4.5 units)
 REMH8005  Remote Medical & Indigenous Health Practice 2  (4.5 units)
 REMH8008  Remote Child Protection Practice 1  (4.5 units)
 REMH8009  Remote Child Protection Practice 2  (4.5 units)
 REMH8010  Remote & Indigenous Individual Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8011  Remote Pharmacy in Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8012  Project Management  (4.5 units)
 REMH8019  Health Economics  (4.5 units)
 REMH8020  Remote & Indigenous Health Promotion  (4.5 units)
 REMH8021  Chronic Disease in Remote and Indigenous Primary Health Care  (4.5 units)
 REMH8023B  Remote & Indigenous Research Dissertation  (4.5 units)
 REMH8023C  Remote & Indigenous Research Dissertation  (4.5 units)
 REMH8023D  Remote & Indigenous Research Dissertation  (4.5 units)
 REMH8025  Recognising and Responding to Dementia in Indigenous Communities  (4.5 units)
 REMH8026  Working with People with Disability in Remote and Indigenous Communities  (4.5 units)

Other topics may be selected from other programs within Flinders University and from other universities in consultation with the course coordinator.

Except with permission of the Faculty Board:

• the program must be completed within 12 consecutive semesters
• no topic may be attempted more than twice.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in 18 or more units may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University&##39;s Policy on Student Progress.