Welcome to our website
The Graduate School for Health Practice (GSHP) is located within the Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University. The Co-Directors of the School are Dr Lesley Barclay, Professor Health Service Development, Charles Darwin University and Mr Greg Rickard, Principal Nursing Advisor and Director Workforce Strategy and Clinical Learning, Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services.
The key objectives of the Graduate School for Health Practice will be to work with the health industry to:
- Develop and provide high quality postgraduate programs and short courses across a number of health disciplines responsive to industry and regional needs;
- Develop strategies and innovation around health service development in the Territory and internationally; and
- Develop research and build local research capacity to inform health policy and practice.
A business plan and other detailed documentation was developed in late 2005 and approved by the University and DHCS which led to the new School being launched. The GSHP has been responsible for postgraduate course work programs in health since the beginning of 2006. Our current programs include the Graduate Certificate and Masters of Nursing, a Graduate Diploma in Child and Family Health, the Graduate Diploma and Masters of Midwifery and the Graduate Diploma in Health with a total of approximately 80 students enrolled in 2007. In addition to our coursework students, we have ten research students enrolled in 2007: eight PhD, one research masters and one honours.
We are developing a new postgraduate nursing course structure for 2009 which will include clinical nursing, education and management streams with articulation from Graduate Certificate through to Masters Level, and on to Nurse Practitioner and doctoral preparation. The health stream is also being redesigned to meet the need of allied health professionals and Aboriginal health workers in progressing on their postgraduate education pathway.
We have an active research program around maternity care, particularly in Indigenous, rural and remote services in Australia and China with smaller studies being conducted in PNG and East Timor. This has resulted in both Associate Professor Sue Kildea and Dr Sue Kruske undertaking WHO consultancies in recent months in PNG and Mongolia. As a result of the latter Sue Kildea will go to Geneva for a meeting on maternal neonatal health in November 2007.
The School has been highly successful in research grants in 2007 with our five academic research staff now Chief Investigators on 8 NHMRC and ARC grants. Staff have been both busy and productive in scholarly output as well as developing courses and teaching. We have published 21 refereed journal articles, 16 book chapters, three conference publications, and three major reports, have 10 refereed journal articles chapters in press and have one co-edited book to be published in 2007/8.
A program in nursing research is now just beginning under the leadership of Professor Sandra Dunn and, similarly, Associate Professor Dr David Cooper is beginning a stream of work in disaster response and preparedness. We have more than three million dollars worth of funds won in competitive process since our commencement. We also undertake considerable consultancy and technical advice for government and others and have earned over a million dollars for this in the last year or so.
In 2007 GSHP has expanded to include staff specialising in Disaster Response and Preparedness. The team includes A/Prof David Cooper, Head of the Centre for Military and Veterans Health Darwin node at CDU and Co-Chair of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre based at Royal Darwin Hospital. Twenty six students participated in a short course ‘Health Aspects of Disaster’ in September 2007. The research program of this team is now building, with a number of projects close to commencement. These include research into surge capacity, triage and others that we plan to start in 2008.
We invite you to read further for details of projects, courses, achievements and people. However on behalf of the Co-Directors, you are welcome to our website and school. Please contact us directly if you want further information or for assistance in school matters.
Best wishes
Dr Lesley Barclay and Mr Greg Rickard
Co-Directors, Graduate School for Health Practice
October 2007
