Career Opportunities
Job market growth in the health, local government, workplace and education sectors continues unabated. There is a strong demand for multi-skilled program managers and for preventionpromotion workers, particularly to work with vulnerable groups and ageing populations. Government directions for health programs are increasingly for jobs in community settings rather than hospitals, to deal with rising rates of chronic conditions and disease, as the shift from hospital to community based programs continues.
Government and non-government organisations are constantly in need of health policy analysts and policy makers especially as health, social and other policy sectors are expected to develop partnerships and cross-sector partnerships and policies (i.e. transport and health, climate/environments and health).
The Bachelor of Health Science incorporates multidisciplinary studies and pathways into career options via major sequences of study: health programs and policy, and clinical and public health sciences, providing broad exposure to the public health and clinical health sciences that underpin an understanding of health and illness in both individuals and populations.
The course provides students with access to a number of career pathways in the health and social sectors as appropriate to the major stream of study taken by them.
Students will be equipped to work in local, national and international contexts.
Streams within the Bachelor of Health Science are available in:
Health promotion aims to prevent illness and injury by addressing the social, economic and environmental causes of health problems (e.g. social inequality, poverty, lack of transport, housing, access to services).
Health promotion practitioners are skilled in working with people and at developing partnerships between different organisations such as those listed below. Programs could be about preventing injury, eating well, physical activity and exercise, healthy workplaces, preventing youth suicide, promoting mental health and wellbeing or healthy outdoor environments.
Graduates may find rewarding careers in organisations such as:
- Community Health Services
- Hospitals and Health Care Networks
- Divisions of General Practice
- Health Foundations (eg Diabetes Foundation, Heart Foundation, Anti-Cancer Councils etc)
- Local Government Councils and Shires
- Area Health Services
- Schools
- Corporate workplaces
- Government projects and policy positions
- Health adviser positions
Job titles may include:
- Health Promotion Practitioner
- Health Programs Officer
- Health Development Manager
- Research and Evaluation Officer
- Project Manager
- Research Assistant/Research Fellow
- Community Health Worker
- Community Development Practitioner
Health promotion may be usefully combined in the Bachelor of Health Science with either or both health management and health informatics to provide a flexible and well rounded career path.
- Health Policy and Management
Health systems are changing more rapidly than almost any other field especially in terms of how and where care is delivered, who is providing those services, the technology required for those services and how services and healthcare are financed.
Health services managers are responsible for planning, assessing and managing the delivery of health care and health services. Health management graduates may enter rewarding careers from a wide range of organisations including:
- Hospitals
- Medical practices and clinics
- Consulting firms
- Health Insurance companies
- Health Care associations such as nursing and allied health
- International corporations
- Private health care agencies providing nursing and welfare services
- Social service organisations
- Aged care
- Health Promotion organisations such as; Anti Cancer Councils, Heart Foundation etc
- Mental Health organisations
- Public health departments and government
- Rehabilitation centres
- Universities and research institutes
This course prepares graduates with sound understanding of business principles as well as policy, planning and project management. Graduates will have the opportunity to be employed at a range of organisational levels, from departments to the office of the chief executive. Requirements for senior level positions in healthcare are demanding but rewarding career paths, with opportunities to improve and make a real difference within the health care system.
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