Handbook

Required reading

General information

Undergraduate

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Organisation of the Faculty of Health Sciences

Faculty of Health Sciences

Senior Management

Student Administration

Clinical Placement Administration

School of Allied Health

The School of Allied Health offers professional courses in dietetics and nutrition, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, prosthetics and orthotics, orthoptics, social work, speech pathology and deaf studies. In addition, the School offers a wide range of coursework master degrees, professional doctorate degrees, research training degrees, and discipline-specific short courses for postgraduate allied health professionals.

Department of Clinical Vision Sciences

Clinical Vision Sciences provides one of only two tertiary education programs in the discipline of orthoptics in Australia. It offers high quality undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as undertaking research in areas related to clinical vision sciences. The combined health sciences and orthoptics degree qualifies graduates for registration as an orthoptist - an allied health professional who undertakes clinical evaluation and non-surgical management of eye disease, disorders of the eye movement and visual systems, and vision rehabilitation.

Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition

The newly established Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition is committed to professional training and ongoing professional development of a dietetics and nutrition workforce which is armed with the skills and capabilities to support people and communities in making healthier dietary and lifestyle choices to optimise health and wellbeing, and manage disease. The Department's dietetics training is a four-year Masters-Level program that is designed according to the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) entry-level competencies. The Department is in the process of seeking accreditation with the DAA. Dietitians are experts in nutrition and dietetics and have a key role in the management of diseases and conditions, such as, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, malnutrition, and food allergy and intolerance. Dietitians also work in the prevention of many diseases and conditions through nutrition education, health promotion and advocacy. Dietitians can work in a broad range of areas including individual patient care, community nutrition and public health, consultancy and private practice, the food industry, food service and management, research and teaching.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Human Nutrition have the knowledge, skills and capabilities to undertake a range of careers in nutrition, such as, a nutritionist employed by local or State government, non-government organisations, food industries and other health industries. Bachelor of Human Nutrition graduates will also have completed the prerequisites for graduate entry into the Master of Dietetic Practice at La Trobe University, as well as many other postgraduate programs in dietetics and public health in Australia. Bachelor of Human Nutrition graduates choosing a public health major may work as a public health nutritionist in a range of government and non-government organisations. They may also choose a research career by undertaking an honours program and PhD in novel and emerging areas of nutritional biosciences such as nutrigenomics, probiotics and impact on gut permeability, nutritional immunology and functional foods.

The Department has a strong research program in a range of dietetics and nutrition-related areas, with a key focus on national health priorities such as obesity and metabolic health. The academic staff have specific research interests in priority areas such as depression, homelessness, the Indigenous, Cultural and Diverse (CALD) groups, food security, metabolic disorders and practice-based research in clinical nutrition.

Department of Human Communication Sciences

The Department of Human Communication Sciences is the only provider of speech pathology educational programs in Victoria. Speech pathologists assess, diagnose, treat, and provide management and advocacy services to people of all ages with communication or swallowing disorders. People with communication disorders may have difficulties in speech, language, voice, fluency, or reading and spelling. Speech pathologists also work in the broader community to prevent people from developing communication problems.

Department of Occupational Therapy

The Department of Occupational Therapy offers quality undergraduate and postgraduate courses and undertakes research and community service activities in related fields. Occupational therapy addresses people’s occupational needs and the loss of daily living skills that follow physical, emotional, psychological, and social disorders. Occupational therapists assist individuals to make the transition from dependence to independence, maximising personal productivity, wellbeing, and quality of life.

Department of Physiotherapy

The Department of Physiotherapy at La Trobe University is the oldest and largest physiotherapy education provider in Victoria. The Department offers quality entry-level and postgraduate courses and undertakes research in physiotherapy and other health-related areas.

Physiotherapists assess and treat people with temporary or long-term physical injuries, movement disorders or disability, aiming to achieve the highest possible degree of recovery, activity, participation and quality of life. They may work independently or as members of health care teams. Physiotherapists are active in the prevention of illness and injury and in the promotion of health. Physiotherapists are also involved in clinical research, movement rehabilitation, ergonomics and the management of health care organisations.

Department of Podiatry

Podiatry is an allied health profession that deals with prevention, diagnosis, and management of foot and ankle pathology across a broad range of client populations.

Podiatry at La Trobe University offers a four-year Bachelor and Master program with a pass and honours stream available. It also runs a fully functional podiatry clinic on campus, which provides a service to the surrounding areas plus an opportunity for students to become involved in patient care under supervision. The department undertakes research and provides community service in related areas.

Department of Social Work and Social Policy

The Department of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University is committed to the ideals and goals of the profession of social work. These are: the promotion of social change in the interests of social justice and and the upholding of human rights, problem-solving in human relationships and communities, and the empowerment and liberation of people, in order to enhance their wellbeing.

In all aspects of its work and roles, the Department focuses on enquiry problem-solving, and change, in the interest of people and communities who are vulnerable, exploited, struggling with poverty or otherwise excluded from the social and economic opportunities, generally available to other members of society, with the aim of building stronger communities. Social workers have a distinctive responsibility in modern societies to intervene at the point where people interact with their environments, and where environments impact upon people (adapted from International Federation of Social Workers' definition, 2000). Social workers engage in direct practice, community and research.

National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics

The National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics (NCPO) offers the only undergraduate and postgraduate educational programs in Australia and New Zealand in prosthetics and orthotics. Staff also undertake research and community service activities in related fields and provide clinical prosthetic and orthotic services.

The prosthetist-orthotist is responsible for the provision of prostheses (artificial limbs) to people with amputations, and orthoses (supportive devices) to people with musculoskeletal disabilities. The responsibilities of the prosthetist-orthotist include assessment of the client, the design, fabrication, fitting and alignment of prostheses and orthoses, and the monitoring and review of the devices used by their clients. The prosthetist-orthotist is an integral member of the health care team with a clinical, technical, advisory, and educational role.

National Institute for Deaf Studies and Sign Language (NIDS)

The National Institute for Deaf Studies and Sign Language (NIDS) is located at the Melbourne campus. NIDS provides a national focus for research into the Australian deaf community, its language AUSLAN, its culture and the education of deaf students. The Institute is involved in the coordination of a wide range of teaching and research projects and works closely with the deaf community. NIDS offers undergraduate subjects, graduate and postgraduate courses in AUSLAN and deaf studies at the Bundoora and Bendigo campuses.

School of Nursing and Midwifery

The School offers courses for entry into professional nursing and midwifery practice and a range of courses for registered nurses. Teaching is conducted at Melbourne (Bundoora), Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura, and Shepparton campuses and the School has clinical schools at the Alfred Hospital, Austin Health, the Royal District Nursing Service, Albury-Wodonga Private Hospital, and Bendigo Health Care Group where some specialist subjects are taught.

The School is comprised of two departments, Nursing and Midwifery.

Department of Midwifery

The Department is committed to providing leadership in education, research and scholarship to advance the health and wellbeing of individuals and the community. The Department's mission is to develop new graduates, who are professional, caring and competent in contemporary midwifery practice. We encourage students to be curious and to appreciate the importance of learning and careful systematic inquiry and evaluation throughout their careers, to ensure care meets best practice standards, locally and internationally.

Midwifery is a global occupation and the Department's large metropolitan and regional focus is underpinned by a curriculum that addresses the national and international contexts. The Department has a number of clinical schools, affiliated with large metropolitan and regional hospitals, together with a broad range of community and mental health settings, where students will gain their clinical experience. 

Department of Nursing

Responding to rapidly changing health care needs and providing relevant, contemporary education requires a solid and innovative research base. The Department's research strengths include evidence-based practice, advanced nursing practice, aged care, palliative care, mental health and rural health care, under the guidance of experienced researchers.

The Department has well developed programs and processes in place to support students and to ensure their opportunities for success and a happy university experience are maximised.

The on-campus skills laboratories enable students to practise and develop clinical nursing skills in a simulated and supportive environment. The Department has a number of clinical schools, affiliated with large metropolitan and regional hospitals, together with a broad range of community and mental health settings where students will gain their clinical experience.

School of Public Health and Human Biosciences

The School of Public Health and Human Biosciences aims to improve the health of individuals and communities through excellence in learning, teaching and research relevant to contemporary health professionals in clinical, administrative and research roles.

An important part of the School's role is to support clinical courses, across the Faculty of Health Sciences, through the teaching of core subjects in human anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pathology, public health, health administration and management and related areas. In this way, the School contributes to the education of nurses, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, prosthetists and orthotists, orthoptists, oral health professionals, social workers, counsellors, art therapists, as well as, health sector managers, administrators and medical scientists.

The School consists of five departments:

• Department of Community Health
• Department of Counselling and Psychological Health
• Department of Health Information Management
• Department of Human Biosciences
• Department of Public Health

Within the School there are also smaller units:

• China Health Program
• Palliative Care Unit
• Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors

Department of Community Health

The Department of Community Health offers the Bachelor of Health Sciences and teaches core first and second-year subjects across the Faculty's undergraduate courses. It offers the Bachelor of Pastoral Care (Graduate Entry) as well as the double-degree programs, the Bachelor of Health Sciences/Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Health Sciences/Bachelor of International Development, which are co-taught with the Faculty of Law and Management and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences respectively. The Department also teaches into the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences, which is offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Department of Counselling and Psychological Health

The Department of Counselling and Psychological Health offers postgraduate coursework degrees in humanistically-oriented counselling, counselling psychology and art therapy. The courses share a focus on contemporary theory and practice and an experiential mode of program delivery. The Department aims to produce graduates able to maintain effective therapeutic relationships and client outcomes across a diverse range of clients and settings.

The Department has a strong research profile and offers research supervision for PhD, professional doctorates and research master programs. It currently supervises over 30 higher-degree research students with the staff representing a wide variety of research interests.

Department of Health Information Management

The Department offers the only Health Information Management course in Victoria and is only one of two in Australasia. It also offers the undergraduate combined degree, the Bachelor of Health Sciences and Master of Health Information Management and recently introduced the Master of Health Information Management (a graduate-entry level course). Students can learn about health classification, health informatics, clinical coding, management of health information systems, analysis of health data and research using health information.

Department of Human Biosciences

The Department of Human Biosciences in made up of a number of disciplines:

• anatomy
• physiology
• pharmacology
• pathology
• biophysical sciences
• ergonomics and human factors

The Department plays a significant role in teaching, research, continuing education and consulting activities.

Teaching related to human body function underpins the coursework of the clinical schools in the Faculty of Health Sciences, as well as the Bachelor of Health Sciences. The Department also teaches into the medical science course offered by the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering.

The Department offers postgraduate courses in ergonomics, safety and health as well as an undergraduate stream within the Bachelor of Health Sciences. There are opportunities for postgraduate research at master and PhD levels in a wide range of research areas related to human function.

Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors

Originating in 1987, the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors (CEHF) is located in the Department of Human Biosciences. It is currently under designation as a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre in Occupational Health. Its purpose is to promote occupational and community health and safety by applying a systems-based approach to enhance physical, psychological and organisational aspects of system functioning. Current activities focus on:

• assessment and control of both physical and psychosocial hazards to prevent work-related musculoskeletal injuries and other stress-related disorders;
• implications of age-related differences in worker characteristics for human resource management, particularly occupational health and safety issues;
• design of occupational health and safety management systems to suit varying hazard profiles and socio-economic conditions; and
• analysis and evaluation of perceptual and cognitive aspects of car driver competencies in relation to road safety requirements.

Department of Public Health

The Department of Public Health at La Trobe University is one of the largest in Australia and is recognised as a leader in health policy and management as well as for the contribution of its social and behavioural scientists. It provides multidisciplinary education, research, consultancy and community service in the field of public health. The Department offers a rich array of postgraduate courses including the Master of Public Health (with six streams of study), the Master of Health Administration, the Master of Health Sciences (with eight majors in public health disciplines) and research training at both the master and doctoral levels. Double master degrees are also available.

La Trobe Rural Health School (LRHS)

The LRHS was established to provide more tertiary educational opportunities and choice for rural and regional communities in northern Victoria. It operates across the four regional campuses of La Trobe University - Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton.

The School aims to be a leader, in Australia and internationally, in teaching and research, in improving the health, social care and wellbeing of people in rural and regional Australia, and in developing sustainable collaborations with regional and rural communities and industry partners.

The number of courses on the regional campuses has increased over the past five years and includes Dentistry and Oral Health, Paramedicine, Allied Health (Speech Pathology, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy), Social Work, and Public and Environmental Health. Many of the School's graduates work in local health and human service organisations.

Student Administration

Clinical Placement Administration

Department of Allied Health

Department of Dentistry and Oral Health

The Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, at La Trobe University, is the first rural and regional dental education provider in Australia and is a leader in dental education, with facilities for preclinical and clinical education spread throughout Victoria. The Department aims to play a major role in the improvement of oral health, for Victorians, and is committed to working effectively with the public dental health service. 

Department of Health and Environment

The Department of Health and Environment offers a Bachelor of Public Health where students select one of two majors - Environmental Health or Health Promotion. Students graduating with an Environmental Health major are eligible for recognition by the Australian Institute of Environmental Health and are typically employed as Environmental Health Officers in local government, although a range of other employment options is also available.

Health Promotion graduates are sought after in settings such as community health centres, state and federal government, divisions of general practice, and non-government organisations. The Department also offers a range of postgraduate study options ranging from graduate certificates and diplomas, masters by coursework or research and doctorates.

Department of Paramedicine

A paramedic is usually a member of the ambulance service who gives pre-hospital advanced medical and trauma care. Paramedics provide on-scene emergency management, crisis intervention, stabilisation and transport of patients.

La Trobe University's paramedicine course, the Bachelor of Health Sciences and Master of Paramedic Practice, has a unique focus on community practice with an emphasis on public health and the changing role of the contemporary paramedic in health care.

Department of Rural Human Biosciences

The Department of Rural Human Biosciences is made up of the disciplines of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, biophysical sciences and biosciences and is home to the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors. The Department plays a significant role in teaching, research, continuing education and consulting.

Department of Rural Nursing and Midwifery

La Trobe University's well-established Bachelor of Nursing program is offered across all four campuses of its Rural Health School. The Department also offers postgraduate midwifery and clinical specialty courses. Its strong links with hospitals and health services across rural Victoria allows students to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of rural Victorians.

Research and Teaching Centres

The Australian Institute for Primary Care & Ageing (AIPCA)

The Australian Institute for Primary Care & Ageing conducts research, consultancy and education in community health services development, health promotion and social issues in health, in particular, in the areas of primary health and aged care. Its goal is to make a significant, positive and enduring impact on the way health and community care is delivered and accessed and provides independent research, expert advice and practical resources to help build better health systems and services.

Most of the Institute's activities are conducted through its specialist core units:

• Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care
• Centre for Health Communication & Participation
• Centre for Health Systems Developments 
• e-Health Unit
• John Richards Initiative
• The Lincoln Centre for Research on Ageing

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society

The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) was established as the Centre for the Study of Sexually Transmissible Diseases, in 1992, as an independent research unit within the Faculty of Health Sciences. ARCSHS has a multidisciplinary team of staff with qualifications and expertise in psychology, anthropology, sociology, public health, health promotion, methodology, epidemiology, education, women’s health, consumer advocacy and health policy.

The Bouverie Centre

The Bouverie Centre, Victoria’s Family Institute, is a statewide, integrated academic, clinical and community consultation agency, specialising in family approaches within mental health service provision. Clinical and community consultation services are targeted to deal with relevant adult, youth and child-related family difficulties, as well as providing some more specialised teams working with the impact of sexual abuse and acquired brain injury. The Centre has a long history of providing training to professionals working with families, offering award courses at the graduate certificate, master, PhD and professional doctorate levels, as well as a comprehensive continuing education program. Further information can be obtained from the website www.latrobe.edu.au/bouverie.

Mother and Child Health Research Centre (MCHR)

Mother and Child Health Research (MCHR) – formerly Centre for the Study of Mothers’ and Children's Health – was established in 1991 with a program grant from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and research grants from a range of agencies. The Centre has been a part of the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University since 1994.

The primary research focus of MCHR is in the following areas:

• health services for pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period;
• perinatal and infant outcomes;
• cross-cultural issues around pregnancy, birth and early motherhood; and
• women’s health and reproduction.

MCHR has a broad public health and population focus taking account of the social aspects of health and medical care, valuing the contribution of a range of disciplines, seeing the health of mothers and babies as integrally related, and taking the health concerns of women themselves seriously. MCHR emphasises the need for research, service development, evaluation and policy to be linked.

MCHR has a strong interest in health services research, building on observational studies to design and implement intervention studies in hospitals, primary care and community settings. Evaluation methods include health outcome assessment, and process and impact measures, making use of both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Musculoskeletal Research Centre (MRC)

The Musculoskeletal Research Centre (MRC) draws together researchers, academics and clinicians from a range of schools at the University, the La Trobe University Medical Centre and other healthcare institutions in order to conduct research into the causes, impact and treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. The MRC provides a central focus for research and education to advance knowledge in this increasingly important area of healthcare. The MRC consists of six research groups:

• bone, cartilage and tendon
• gait, balance and falls
• knee orthopaedics
• foot and ankle
• prosthetics and orthotics
• muscle function and rehabilitation