Mum keen to swap desk jobs for ‘real rehab’ roles

Published:25 February 2020

Allied Health student Melissa Cameron (dark blue shirt) pictured during her recent clinical placement with the Rockhampton Hospital Rehabilitation Unit.

Gracemere mum Melissa Cameron used to work in rehab roles relating to case management, insurance and financial arrangements.

Now her kids are getting older, she’s focused on returning to the rehabilitation workforce in a hospital setting, where she can be face-to-face with her clients.

“I’m keen to help people who are injured or ill more directly in a one-to-one capacity and help them walk or move again,” Melissa says.

“Previously, I’ve only been able to let them know if their claim has been funded or not.”

Melissa has chosen CQUniversity’s Bachelor of Allied Health, because much of it can be completed online from home, except for residential schools and clinical placements.

As a bonus, the first year of the refreshed degree structure includes an embedded Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance.

This embedded qualification enables students to seek work as an Allied Health Assistant while completing the rest of their degree.

“I really enjoyed my recent clinical placement with the Rockhampton Hospital Rehabilitation Unit, who provided a great hands-on learning experience with a wide variety of rehab patients,” Melissa says.

“I was able to see how the rehab multidisciplinary team members work together to help patients achieve their goals.

“It was inspiring to see how the hard work of the patients paid off and I was amazed by the gains they made in partnership with their rehab team.”

CQUniversity Allied Health Head of Course Dr Melanie Hayman says that bachelor degree students can now gain the necessary qualifications to enter the workforce as recognised allied health professionals.

“As Allied Health Assistants, our students will be presented with the unique opportunity to further develop their knowledge, training and skills as well as to establish professional collaborations and relationships, all whilst they continue to study,” Dr Hayman says.

“Our Allied Health graduates will, as a result of this novel work, be highly sought after as genuine work-ready graduates.

“The impact of this activity on this industry is also significant as we are now able to fill and service a current workforce shortage of allied health professionals.”

CQUniversity has worked in partnership with the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CQHHS) to support a strategy of articulation and integration of Allied Health students learning across the VET and higher education sectors.