Distance Education 2000 - Master of General Practice Psychiatry

Master of General Practice Psychiatry

General information
Aims
Professional recognition
Entry requirements
Course structure
Credits/exemptions
Further information
Completed applications

General information

Course code: To be advised * Offered by the Department of Community Medicine and General Practice and the Department of Psychological Medicine (Monash University) in conjunction with the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne * The fee for Australian residents is $4200 pa with a total cost of $8400. The fee for overseas students is $6300 pa with a total cost of $12,600. Students may pay fees on a semester-by-semester basis.

Aims

The Master of General Practice Psychiatry aims to equip general practitioners with the knowledge and skills required to effectively assess and manage psychiatric conditions in the general practice setting. The course aims to assist general practitioners gain a clear understanding of their role as therapists, gatekeepers and members of a multidisciplinary team engaged in patient centered care. In addition, the second year covers assessment and management of somatoform disorders, personality disorders and psychotic disorder focusing on the role of the general practitioner in managing these conditions. Management of mental illness in children, adolescents and the elderly is also covered and the course concludes with a grounding in neuropsychiatry focussing on issues relevant to general practitioners.

Professional recognition

Australian candidates enrolled in the masters will be eligible for an appropriate number of quality assurance points for vocational registration purposes.

Entry requirements

The course is made available to registered medical practitioners engaged in full or part-time general practice who have been in clinical general practice for at least five years full time or its part time equivalent.

Course structure

The Master of General Practice Psychiatry is a seventy-two credit-point professional coursework masters. The seventy-two credit points is made up of twenty-four credit points for recognition of prior learning, twenty-four credit points for the first year of study, and twenty-four credit points for the second year of study. The structure of the course is shown below.

Recognition of prior learning*	Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners	24 credit points
	or seven years full time general practice or part-time equivalent	24 credit points
	or completion of the first year of the current Masters of Family Medicine: MFM2008 (Academic basis of general practice) and MFM2006 (Introduction to research methods)	24 credit points
Year 1	The first year consists of the seven units in the Graduate Certificate in General Practice Psychiatry	24 credit points
Year 2	The second year consists of the six second-year units listed below	24 credit points

*Students who do not fulfil the criterion for recognition of prior learning can obtain the extra twenty-four credit points by completing the following two subjects from Monash University's Master of Family Medicine:

MFM2008 Academic basis of general practice (12 credit points);
MFM2006 Introduction to research methods (12 credit points).

	Unit	Credit points	Duration
Year 1	GGP1001 Introduction to general practice psychiatry	3	4 weeks
	GGP1002 Depression and other mood disorders	4	5 weeks
	GGP1003 Anxiety	4	5 weeks
	GGP1004 Drug and alcohol	4	5 weeks
	GGP1005 Introduction to psychotherapy	3	3 weeks
	GGP1006 Stress management	3	4 weeks
	GGP1007 Introduction to family therapy	3	4 weeks
	Totals	24	30 wks
Year 2	MGP1008 Psychotic disorders	4	5 weeks
	MGP1009 Personality disorders	4	5 weeks
	MGP1010 Somatoform disorders	4	5 weeks
	MGP1011 Child adolescent and family psychiatry	4	5 weeks
	MGP1012 Psychiatry of old age	4	5 weeks
	MGP1013 Organic psychiatry	4	5 weeks
	Totals	24	30 wks

Credits/exemptions

The seventy-two credit points are made up of twenty-four credit points for recognition of prior learning, twenty-four credit points for the first year of study and twenty-four credit points for the second year of study. Other credit provisions for external courses will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Credit from other comparable courses can be provided up to a maximum of 50 per cent towards the Master of General Practice Psychiatry.

Further information

For more detailed information and an application form, please contact Ms Louise McCall or Dr Grant Blashki, Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, telephone (03) 9579 3188 fax (03) 9570 1382.

Completed applications

Completed applications are to be forwarded to Ms A Whitby, Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, 867 Centre Road, East Bentleigh, Victoria, 3165, by the preferred date of 10 June 1999.