Innovative advances have seen a suite of new disciplines added to the Faculty of Health’s syllabus over the past five years – occupational therapy, audiology, physiotherapy, dietetics, speech pathology, paramedicine, oral health therapy and medicine. 

The new courses complement long-standing health courses: nursing, midwifery, social work, pharmacy and psychology. 

Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Upton and his team are keen for further growth, exploring courses such as optometry, medical imaging and veterinary science. 

Expansion has taken an enormous amount of hard work and collaboration – planning the new courses, accessing finance, recruiting lecturers, attracting students and getting professional body accreditation. 

Given the successful growth in the faculty’s range of internationally-recognised courses, more students from overseas and throughout Australia are being attracted to study and work in the Territory. 

Professor Upton wants to recruit more Territorians. 

“I want local people to know that they don’t have to go interstate to gain health qualifications,” he says. “They can stay here, which is far less expensive than moving interstate and keeps you connected to the community. 

“We have persuaded many students to come to the Territory – and we want more Territorians to study here. We want to grow our own health workforce and contribute to the improved health and wellbeing of our community.” 

The faculty is working to arrest the brain drain – students going interstate to study and not returning. 

Students used to have to move to an interstate university to complete the final two years of some health degrees, such as occupational therapy, but this is now offered by the faculty in the Territory. 

Students also gain far more hands-on and relevant experience working in the Territory health environment. 

For instance, in consultation with the Territory Government and NT Hearing, audiology students provide hearing screenings to pupils in schools and for Melaleuca Australia 

Social work students complete 13-week placements with many local social services, Government and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations. 

Five social work students who undertook placements in organisations in remote communities last year subsequently took up employment offers at the completion of their study. 

The faculty’s Health Hub offers collaborative, professionally supervised, student-delivered and community-focused health services in psychology, audiology, occupational therapy, speech therapy and social work – areas of high demand or where access to care is impeded. 

Partners include private providers, Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations, government and non-government organisations, and sporting bodies. 

While the activities of the service are varied, geographically spread and have diverse modes of delivery, they all aim to fill gaps in community health services across the Territory. The collaborative approach also provides a rich experience for students, enabling engagement in unique and innovative placements that will prepare them well for work in the NT. 

There are plans to start a mobile health clinic later this year to increase the reach of its services. 

The faculty has impressive cutting-edge facilities, including a new Better Health Futures building at the Casuarina campus, which has clinic spaces, pre-clinical simulation, virtual reality anatomy labs and an ambulance – all providing teaching and learning facilities on par with the rest of Australia. 

The faculty is keen to develop more partnerships, tailored health clinics and fee-for-service agreements to help support the continued growth of courses where there is a critical workforce shortage, student-delivered health services and the local health workforce. 

“We want to work with our community to continue expanding our services and contribution of the Faculty to the NT.” TQ