About

Allied Health

The Report on the Audit of Health Workforce in Rural and Regional Australia reports that the current supply of health professionals is not sufficient to meet the current needs, a situation that will be exacerbated as both the population and the workforce itself age. The report finds that the distribution of workforce is poor, declining significantly with greater remoteness.

The report also finds that regional and remote Australia has less access to allied health professionals than people living in major cities. The number of Allied Health professionals per 10,000 population for the CQUniversity footprint is well below the state and national averages and vacancy rates for Allied health professionals in this region remain critically high. The growing call for regionally trained graduates, which will result in increased recruitment opportunities for the regional, rural and remote health workforce, provides both a need for action as well as an opportunity for CQUniversity.

To address this need we have been successful in securing significant investment from the University Council to develop a suite of Allied Health programs. These will support the university’s renewal strategy and align closely with the University’s operational plan to increase accessibility to relevant, flexible degrees that meet the higher education aspirations of Central Queenslanders – specifically in the health discipline area.

Through cross organisational partnerships and community collaboration, these programs will demonstrate an innovative and professionally relevant approach to learning and teaching through work-integrated learning and co-operative placement models; through the Integrated Health clinic students will deliver health care considered vital to the local health care landscape; and through this embedded integrated approach to education, graduates will be considered work-ready and be graduate employees of choice.

As these programs are being developed in alliance with each other and dovetailed to each other, there is a significant opportunity to demonstrate innovation, leadership and excellence in curriculum development and teaching and education practices.

With time, these programs will contribute innovative contemporary practices, outstanding research outcomes and contribute to the developing knowledge in their respective professional areas.

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Allied Health)

Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) launched in 2012 provides a foundation learning opportunity leading to graduates with skills, knowledge and experience necessary to fill emerging health workforce roles and reflects the contemporary direction of the national agenda on education, health, employment and closing the gap.

Immediate employment opportunities will revolve around the role of an Allied Health Assistant which is currently being met by sub degree qualifications deemed inadequate. Graduates will also be able to engage in employment in health promotion, public health, health research and articulation into other health education. There will be significant opportunities for articulation pathways from TAFE and a major prospect for indigenous health worker education.

The Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) is a 3 year program offered in an internal and flexible delivery model from the Rockhampton and Bundaberg campuses. There is considerable overlap in curriculum with other Medical Science and Health programs offered from CQUniversity. The Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) will deliver graduate attributes that foster problem solving, critical thinking, encourage a culture of life long learning and produce workplace ready successful graduates.

The Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) will also provide students with the necessary skill set to enter a suite of specialist professional programs by seamlessly interlocking all programs to deliver relevant outcomes for the national health agenda and effectively respond to community needs.

Central to this program’s progress is the development of an Integrated Health Clinic which will provide students with an unparalleled opportunity to blend real-life clinical experience with contemporary best practice theoretical education. Final year students will follow a case based learning curriculum specifically linked to the students’ clinical activity in the Integrated health clinic.

Specialist Professional Programs (Occupational Therapy; Physiotherapy; Podiatry; Speech Pathology)

These programs, launching in 2012 and 2013 have been developed to prepare graduates to meet the key entry level competencies standards as defined by professional body competency standards.

They have also been developed to maximise the integration between the programs as well as with the Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) in both theoretical academic instruction and clinical fieldwork experience. Key evidence in support of these proposed developments includes:

• The need for regionally based health programs is established and well documented, as is the critical shortage of health professionals in the Central Queensland region. The suite of health programs addresses this workforce disparity and influences CQUniversity’s reputation as being able to contribute to the growth of the Central Queensland community.
• The Integrated health clinic promotes self-sufficiency in the provision of clinical placement opportunities which are becoming increasingly important due to scarcity, cost, and complexity of organising health industry based clinical experience. Clinical exposure and experience is paramount to work-readiness.
• Utilisation of the same staff to teach across the undergraduate Bachelor of Health Science (Allied Health) and the discipline specific Graduate Entry Masters programs assists the sustainability and underpins the financial modelling of the programs

Allied Health team

We have recruited an enthusiastic and experienced group of professionals from across Australia and the world to lead these exciting new programs. The team currently numbers 10 academics across our Bundaberg and Rockhampton campuses and we are recruiting further colleagues during 2013.

Human Services

CQUniversity offers four qualifications that equip graduands for successful employment in the human services sector: the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), the Bachelor of Social Work with Honours, The Bachelor of Arts (Welfare Studies) and a Graduate Certificate in Human Services. For both the BSW and the Bachelor of Arts, completion of counselling and community welfare oriented Diplomas may attract credit of up to 25% toward both qualifications. Previous qualifications in the social and behavioural sciences at Bachelor level may attract credit of up to 50%.

The human services sector attracts people committed to empowering the most vulnerable people in the population. One aim of the social work, social welfare, and human service professions is to advocate for resources that assist vulnerable people to address social inequalities and social exclusion, create better standards of living, and enhance individual and collective wellbeing. Human service workers are committed to facilitating change across many social systems of society including work alongside individuals, groups, families, organisations, neighbourhoods, communities, and societies.

According to 2006 Census data the health and community services sector was the fourth largest in Australia experiencing some of the fastest growth in the economy - second only to the construction industry (Healy & Lonne 2010, p.37). Similarly, within this growth the human services and welfare sector has grown by 128% with the number of employed ranging from 27 000 in 1996 to 68 000 in 2009 (Healy & Lonne 2010, p. 38).

Degree programs at CQUniversity for the human services

A Bachelor of Social Work from CQUniversity qualifies graduands to practice in a diverse range of human service sectors across every State or Territory of Australia and several countries overseas. The Bachelor of Social Work is approved by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). The Bachelor of Arts (Welfare Studies) permits the same breadth of employment opportunities and possible membership with the Australian Institute of Community and Welfare Workers. The Graduate Certificate in Human Services is designed for those with extensive experience in the human service sector who wish to obtain a formal qualification in order to enhance promotion or those with professional backgrounds seeking career mobility. In Australia human service workers are employed by local Councils, State, and Federal levels of government. Human service workers are also employed by community organisations such as Lifeline, Centacare, Anglicare, Red Cross, Women's Health, and neighbourhood centres.

The BSW is a four year program when studied full-time including 12 weeks of work integrated learning in Year 3 of the curriculum and 16 weeks in the final term of Year 4. Work integrated learning takes place in human service organisations supervised by a qualified social worker who is eligible for membership with the AASW. Successful progress through the Bachelor of Social Work provides eligibility for the award of Associate Degree in Community Welfare upon completion of two years of full time study and a Bachelor of Community Welfare on successful completion of three years of full-time study. The Bachelor of Social Work with Honours provides pathways to research careers or higher degree qualifications. Between 2008-2010 destination surveys indicated that 98-100% of graduands had secured employment within six months of graduation. The Bachelor of Social Work prepares graduands to undertake influential leadership roles in the human services sector.

The Bachelor of Arts (Welfare Studies) provides a qualification for those keen to be involved in direct practice with vulnerable client groups. This qualification offers the same breadth of employment opportunities across human services sectors as the BSW. The curriculum offers great flexibility in relation to course selection allowing participants a wider range of study plans such as Indigenous studies, psychology or human geography, to complement core human service courses. Social Welfare students share both on-line and on-campus study opportunities with Social Work students. The Welfare Studies plan comprises two, seven week periods of work integrated learning supervised by qualified human service practitioners.

The Graduate Certificate in Human Services is a full fee paying qualification and applications are made directly to the University. This graduate qualification presents contemporary debates about the Australian welfare state and the core methods of human service delivery, namely, case work, case management, family work, social group work and community practice.

Healy K and Lonne B 2010, The social work and human services workforce, Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Strawberry Hills, NSW.

Population Health

The School of  Human, Health and Social Sciences offers exciting and innovative programs in the broad area of Population Health. These programs provide exposure to a wide variety of hands-on experiences, ensuring ‘work-ready’ graduates with participation in worksite visits and incorporation of work practicum. Our strong relationships with industry bodies ensure our programs are continually updated with the latest health and safety practices. In addition our staff are acknowledged national leaders in their field and have received national awards for their research and teaching practices. This expertise falls into a number of areas:

Occupational Health

Occupational health and safety is concerned with the health and safety of the members within an organisation. Occupational health and safety officers coordinate systems, identify hazards, assess risks and put required controls in place to minimise the risk of accidents and illness among staff. The typical work of an occupational health and safety officer also involves the promotion of health and safety including the development of policies and procedures, inspecting and testing of machinery and equipment, ensuring the correct safety and protective equipment is available and ensuring it meets regulations, ensuring that the organisation complies with legislation, supervising the investigation of accidents, assisting with the organisation of appropriate health care and insurance claims and coordinating emergency procedures.

Health Promotion

Health promotion professionals contribute to the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and organisations through informing and empowering at all levels. The CQUniversity Health Promotion programs aim to produce health care professionals with the ability to work effectively in their communities in the area of health promotion. This program seeks to provide students with a comprehensive set of knowledge and skills that reflect the national health promotion competencies and the CQUniversity generic graduate skills and attributes which should enable them to work with individuals and communities to increase control over and generally improve their health and wellbeing.

Environmental Health

Environmental Health is concerned with the promotion of good health, hygiene and environmental practices and is critical to the health and wellbeing of the community. Environmental health officers develop, regulate and enforce laws and regulations governing public health as well as building and environmental management. Environmental health officers may also be responsible for work such as investigating complaints about food safety and ensuring suppliers conform to health regulations, monitoring and reporting on water, air and noise pollution, conduct environmental impact studies and risk assessments, advising and contributing to the policy surrounding environmental health, investigating and advising on public health issues such as disease outbreaks and so much more.

Accident Forensics

Losses due to accidents remain a multi-billion dollar cost to Australian society, with equivalent impacts internationally. Accidents also result in significant social costs to the victims and those close to them, costs that are seldom well understood. Contemporary research and industry stakeholders’ opinions confirm that society needs to have better understanding of accident causation and prevention if there is to be a shift in mitigating this significant social epidemic. Graduates of our unique programs in this field will learn to systematically analyse the knowledge, principles and concepts related to accident forensics. This will include conducting accident investigations and analysis based on knowledge and techniques appropriate to accident forensics.

Aviation

We offer a suite of exciting aviation programs from Diploma through to Bachelor level. These include the opportunity to incorporate practical recreational flight training into your studies. We also have an exciting partnership with the Australian Flight Academy to provide commercial flight training alongside our Diploma of Aviation Theory. This program makes use of Bundaberg airport which is located next door to the Bundaberg campus of the University. During 2013 we will be developing an exciting new Bachelor of Aviation. This will encompass pathways through different sub-disciplines including; human factors, technology, and management.

Population Health team

The Population Health Group is located at the Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Brisbane campuses. The core team comprises 11 academics with plans to make further appointments in the near future. We also make widespread use of adjunct colleagues who are based in industry. The group has nationally and internationally recognized research and industry links particularly in the areas of Human Factors and Safety Science. The group liaises closely with the Co-operative Research Centre for Rail Innovation, and the recently launched Appleton Research Institute. This Institute is based in Adelaide and is a world leader in Human Factors Research, particularly with respect to Sleep and Shift work.

Psychology

Psychology is a science and a profession. These characteristics are reflected in the Psychology Programs offered at CQUniversity. Our programs seek to promote a collaborative and collegial model of psychological research, training and practice that encourages, stimulates, and maintains excellence.

Psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour and any related activities necessitate the application of principles based upon sound research methods. The courses within our programs clearly demonstrate the use of scientific methodologies underlying the knowledge areas taught. There is an emphasis on exploring competing hypotheses and the necessity to search for confirming or disconfirming information from reputable sources when examining the quality of an argument will be an essential component in each course.

A fundamental element of all aspects of psychology is communication, both oral and written. We resolve to develop the use of succinct, precise, and proficient written and oral expression of ideas within our courses. We also encourage students to critically analyze the information they encounter and express their perspectives on issues or research in a professional and well reasoned manner.

Psychology at CQUniversity seeks to establish itself as a leader in teaching, research, and training. The Psychology Wellness Centre located at CQUniversity acts as: (1) a training facility for students in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders; (2) a means of strengthening community ties through applied research by staff and students, and (3) a venue where continued professional development will be made available to mental health practitioners from the region and beyond.

Psychology Values:

Psychology at CQUniversity values an environment that advances scholarship and the pursuit of knowledge, while striving for excellence in the delivery of the highest quality undergraduate and postgraduate education and training. We value:

• a research environment that is collaborative, supportive, and innovative;
• research training and professional development through the use of mentoring and collegial interaction;
• encouragement of expanding understanding through the integration of diverse perspectives and use of a rich variety of theories and research methods;
• valuing diverse cultural and personal perspectives in dealing with complex social issues;
• being respectful, sensitive, and knowledgeable in our communications; and,
• sharing the basic ideals of integrity and ethics in conducting research, teaching and professional activities.

Psychology Graduate Attributes (APAC):

Graduate Attribute 1: Knowledge and Understanding of Psychology