510-621 Specialty Health Rotations

Successful completion of Semesters 8 and 9 (Integrated Clinical Studies).

This subject consists of four units: Rural health; Psychiatry; Rehabilitation, Aged Care, Palliative Care and Psychiatry of Old Age (RAPP); and Emergency Medicine.

Rural Health: The curriculum aims to give students an understanding of rural sociocultural issues; the epidemiology of rural health and illness; occupational health and safety in primary and secondary industries; rural and indigenous health service roles, activities and utilisation. Students will gain clinical exposure to rural emergency/acute wards, rural GP practice, district nursing and allied health, rural diagnostic services and special clinics; and they will conduct supervised hospital-based and home-based patient interviews, supported by on-line tutorials. Students will undertake placements in an indigenous community, occupational medicine and clinical skills and practice laboratories/workshops. A generic skill to be learned will be adaptability to a different environment.

Psychiatry: The curriculum aims to give students an understanding of the biological, psychological and social causes of common serious illnesses; the major disabilities, handicaps and impairments besetting the individual and families suffering from a mental disorder; the principles of treatment of major mental disorders in a range of settings; the importance of stigma, culture, gender and developmental stages when assessing, recognising and managing psychiatric illness. An important generic skill will be empathic communication.

RAPP: Rehabilitation, Aged Care, Palliative Care and Psychiatry of Old Age: The curriculum aims to give students an understanding of the principles underlying assessment and management of patients in each discipline. Students are particularly expected to gain an understanding of the importance of the interactions between community and hospital services (acute and sub acute) for patient care in each discipline. The importance of family input to care will also be stressed. The teaching methods used will be tutorials, seminars and clinical sessions, which will occur in hospital and community settings and on home visits. Generic skills to acquire are an understanding of multidisciplinary management, the social consequences of illness and holistic care.

Emergency Medicine: The curriculum aims to give students a solid grounding in the principles underlying the assessment and early management of patients presenting to emergency departments. Students are particularly expected to gain an understanding of triage processes, the assessment of the seriously ill and victims of trauma, the challenges of managing patients in emergency departments and the importance of teamwork in emergency care. Students will be based in an emergency department and some attendance after hours and at weekends will be expected. The teaching methods used will be problem-based tutorials, procedural skills tutorials and clinical experience under supervision in the emergency department setting.

One 3-hour written examination (31.25%), one 2,000-word case presentation (6.25%), one 1,500-word case report (12.5%), 1 half-day OSCEs (16.7%), one 15-minute placement report (11.1%), one 15-minute clinical presentation (6.68%), one 15-minute case history combined with case management (6.68%), one Emergency OSCE (2.20%), one 15-minute case presentation (2.20%) and tutor marks (4.44%). Hurdle requirement: 75% attendance at lectures, tutorials and practical classes and 100% attendance at clinical placements and field visits.