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CDU Menzies Medical Program

Committees

Meet the committees that work to support the CDU Menzies Medical Program
Faculty of Health staff members

Curriculum Working Group

The CDU Menzies Medical Program Curriculum Working Group (CWG) is established to work with key stakeholders to transform the medical program curriculum purchased from Western Sydney University into the context of the Northern Territory and aligned to the new Australian Medical Council (AMC) Medical School Accreditation Standards introduced in January 2024.  

The CWG provides an opportunity for discussion, collaboration, and leadership in developing a new medical curriculum for CDU. The CWG will assist the Medical Program Course Coordinator transform the WSU medical program curriculum into an authentic NT-focused curriculum to train future medical doctors fit for the needs of the Territory and beyond. The unique aspect of the curriculum will be its NT-focus, preparing graduates who understand the health challenges faced by the NT community.  Whilst delivering a strong and quality bedrock curriculum, it will be one that is influenced throughout, by our place and our people.  

The CDU Menzies medical program will have a strong focus on a context driven place-based curriculum that recognises the importance for our community of First Nations health and wellbeing, rural generalism and provision of high quality regional and remote health services. The curriculum will embed cultural humility, First Nations health, rural and remote health practice in the program from the first year of the program.

First Nations Working Group

The CDU Menzies Medical Program First Nations Working Group (FNWG) is established to work with key NT First Nations stakeholders in the development of a locally led and delivered medical program in the Northern Territory (NT) that successfully inspires and supports First Nations students to study medicine in the NT. 

The FNWG provides an opportunity for discussion, collaboration, and leadership in developing a scaffolding and embedded framework that supports successful recruitment, transition, and progress of First Nations students through the medical program, encourages the recruitment of First Nations academics to deliver the program and provide advice on embedding First Nations knowledge and cultural responsiveness into the medical school program and curriculum.  

The FNWG will draw on existing expertise of First Nations health leaders, First Nations pathways knowledge and frameworks in medicine, health, and the higher education sector more broadly. The FNWG will work closely with existing CDU pathways programs and ongoing First Nations pathways research conducted by CDU and Menzies School of Health Research. The FNWG will draw on work done by existing expert groups such as LIME (Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education), and AIDA (Australian Indigenous Doctors Association), to explore specific barriers and enablers for successful completion of a medical program.

Strategic Board

The purpose of the CDU Menzies Medical Program is to improve health outcomes for the people of the Northern Territory (NT) by selectively enrolling and successfully graduating local First Nations and NT residents as medical doctors in the NT to provide a sustainable local medical workforce pipeline.

The Strategic Board advises the CDU Menzies Medical Program on strategies to meet the purpose of the program including:

  • providing strategic advice to the School of Medicine on the design of a medical program that is fit for purpose for the Northern Territory and northern Australia more broadly. This will include advice on the contextualisation of the WSU curriculum for the NT and any innovative additional elements specific to the NT that would add value to the program
  • being a strong advocate, on behalf of the School, with key stakeholders and decision-makers in the NT and nationally, to have increased medical CSPs and funding allocated to the medical program
  • assisting with the marketing and recruitment of students across the NT for the medical program helping to build aspiration amongst our secondary school students and community for the medical program
  • assisting with the development of strategic collaborative arrangements to support the education and training of the medical program’s students in the health sector organisations
  • providing a conduit into the health sector to inform the development more broadly as each year of the program is introduced;
  • contribute to the evaluation of student and program outcomes as each year of the program is introduced.
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