The Graduate Certificate in Remote Health Practice is a 18-unit program which is offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. The program is only available on a part-time basis.

The course articulates with The Graduate Diploma in Remote Health Practice and the Master of Remote and Indigenous Health and the sequentially developed topics allow progression through the three awards.

Students in the programs undertake two core topics and are then able to select a specialty stream in either Allied Health, Individual Practice, Medical, Nursing, Remote Child Protection, or Remote Pharmacy.

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.

Admission requirements

Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution. 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

This Graduate Certificate in Remote Health Practice aims to prepare health professionals new to remote contexts to work with the people and professionals of Remote Areas to keep remote and Indigenous people well and manage ill-health.

It aims to provide education at a foundational level 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

At the completion of the course students are expected to be able to:

  • apply their knowledge of the remote context, disciplinary specific specialty practice, and foundational knowledge of social determinants and public health to extend their undergraduate health professional skills
  • apply their new skills to implement Health Care services as beginning Remote Health practitioners within a framework of cultural safety and Primary Health Care
  • communicate effectively within the diverse cultural and linguistic context of remote and Indigenous Health practice locally, nationally and internationally
  • take responsibility for, and be self-reliant in their learning and their work
  • work cooperatively, productively and with integrity within the Primary Health Care team towards a common outcome of improving the health outcomes of remote, isolated, marginalised and Indigenous people worldwide
  • engage positively with the diverse range of people within the local, national and international context of remote and Indigenous Health practice.

Program of study

To qualify for The Graduate Certificate in Remote Health Practice, a student must complete 18 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the following program of study

Core - Year 1 topics

9 units comprising:

 REMH8001  Context of Remote & Indigenous Health  (4.5 units)
 REMH8002  Remote & Indigenous Primary Health Care  (4.5 units)

Plus 9 units from one of the following specialty streams:

Or 9 units from the Elective topics.

Stream - Allied Health

 REMH8003  Fundamentals of Remote Allied Health Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8012  Project Management  (4.5 units)

Stream - Individual Practice

 REMH8010  Remote & Indigenous Individual Practice  (4.5 units)

Plus 4.5 units from the Elective topics.

Stream - Medical

 REMH8004  Remote and Indigenous Family Medicine  (4.5 units)
 REMH8005  Remote and Indigenous Complex Chronic Disease  (4.5 units)

Stream - Nursing

 REMH8006  Remote Advanced Nursing Practice & Pharmacotherapeutics 1A  (4.5 units)
 REMH8007  Remote Advanced Nursing & Family Practice  (4.5 units)

Stream - Remote Child Protection

 REMH8008  Remote Child Protection Practice 1  (4.5 units)
 REMH8009  Remote Child Protection Practice 2  (4.5 units)

Stream - Remote Pharmacy

 REMH8003  Fundamentals of Remote Allied Health Practice  (4.5 units)
 REMH8011  Remote Pharmacy in Practice  (4.5 units)

Elective - Year 1 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)
 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)
 REMH8023A  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)