3882 - Bachelor of Health Science

The Bachelor of Health Science is an innovative, flexible, three-year degree in the public health/social sciences that equips students for careers in health promotion, public health and primary care sectors, community and social services and government, health foundations and international agencies.

This course requires students to undertake off-campus placements.

Special requirements

Police checks

Organisations that host clinical and community placements require students to have current Police and Working with Children checks regarding their suitability to undertake such placements. All enrolled and prospective students are advised that they will be required to obtain Police and Working with Children checks prior to undertaking their course. Working with Children checks are valid for five years and are available free. Police checks must be applied and paid for annually. However, in some community partnered programs there may be a requirement to have a police check renewed every six months.

Health requirements

In order to meet health requirements for working in the healthcare facilities and for the protection of other students, and themselves, students may need to comply with certain precautionary procedures. These may consist of confidential tests for immune status (including blood tests and skin tests), receiving vaccines and having x-rays where the evidence indicates that these are appropriate.

Vaccinations

The faculty recommends that all students accept responsibility for having up-to-date immunisations before commencing this course. Recommended immunisations include diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis and hepatitis B.

On successful completion of the BHSc, it is expected that the student will be able to:

• demonstrate the knowledge, skills and technical competency appropriate for an entry level practitioner in professional fields of health promotion or health policy and management
• value research and be skilled at accessing, critically appraising and applying the best available evidence to the professional fields of health promotion or health policy and management
• develop health promotion knowledge and skills, and management skills for improved utilisation of the resources required to advance population health and wellbeing
• recognise population health and wellbeing issues associated with social and cultural diversity and the skills and resources required for working across diverse populations
• demonstrate awareness of equity, and health, and human rights and social justice
• demonstrate awareness of the determinants of illness, health and wellbeing
• integrate knowledge of relevant public policy and health and social care systems into practice
• demonstrate critical awareness of the relationships between population health and wellbeing, and the policy and institutions framing health and social care systems, and a capacity to utilise this awareness in the advancement of population health and wellbeing
• achieve a broad education based on independent learning, critical thinking, problem-solving and evaluation.

Students can elect major sequences from health promotion, health policy and management. In addition, students may select a minor sequence in bioscience.

All students undertake a foundation year in applied social and health sciences. Study covers areas of research, communication, health systems, health promotion and the determinants of health. In second year core units include studies in epidemiology and public health, legal and ethical frameworks for health, indigenous health and wellbeing, and students choose their major stream. In third year students take a practicum plus core units in research methods, health policy, community partnerships, their major stream and elective units.

There is a compulsory three day inter-professional education block each semester that will involve learning together with students enrolled in other health science courses (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, social work, paramedic) around structured academic content focussed on collaboration and teamwork.

To qualify for the Bachelor of Health Science, students must complete the following units:

Core units

First year

Semester 1

• HSC1031 Foundations of health
• HSC1041 Health sociology
• HSC1051 Working with people*
• HSC1061 Introduction to research in health science

Semester 2

• HSC1052 Health and social care systems
• HSC1072 Health promotion 1
• HSC1082 Population Health
• HSC1092 Human body in health and illness*

Second year

Semester 1

• HSC2031 Epidemiology and public health
• HSC2061 Legal and ethical frameworks
• major sequence unit 1
• elective*

Semester 2

• SRH2002 Indigenous health and wellbeing
• HSC2042 Population health and diversity
• HSC2092 Community partnerships and capacity building
• major sequence unit 2

Third Year

Semester 1

• HSC3031 Research methods in health science
• major sequence unit 3
• major sequence unit 4
• elective*

Semester 2

• HSC3072 Health policy and politics
• HSC3082 Health promotion practicum
• major sequence unit 5
• major sequence unit 6

*For student's undertaking the biosciences minor, the four units (24 points) making up the minor sequence replace HSC1051 and HSC1092 and any two electives.

Major sequences

Health promotion

Students select six of the following units:

• HSC2051 Health promotion 2
• HSC2052 Management in the health sector
• HSC2062 Communicating health
• HSC3011 Contemporary health challenges
• HSC3052 Health promotion in primary and clinical settings
• HSC3061 Health promotion evaluation
• MGW1010 Managing people and organisations
• plus an additional three electives

Health policy and management

Students select six of the following units:

• HSC3071 Public health policy
• MGW1010 Managing people and organisations
• MGW2230 Organisational behaviour
• MGW2430 Human resource management
• MGW2511 Managing quality, innovation and knowledge
• MGW3130 Organizational change and development
• plus an additional three electives

Minor sequence in bioscience of 4 units (24 points)

• HSC1301 Human structure and function 1
• HSC1302 Human structure and function 2
• HSC2301 Processes of disease
• HSC2302 Communicable disease

Elective units offered by Department of Health Science

• HSC2012 Drugs, ethics and community

Bachelor of Health Sciences

* Where more than one award is listed, or in the case of double degrees, where more than one award is listed for one or both components of the double degree, the actual award/s conferred may depend on units/majors/streams/specialisations studied, the level of academic merit achieved (eg in the case of 'with honours' programs), or other factors relevant to the individual student's program of study.