Developing career-ready health science graduates

05 Feb 2019

Health science is a broad field that encompasses many areas – from nursing to medicine, physiotherapy, and more. Depending on your area of study, a health science programme can prepare you for a variety of roles within clinical and non-clinical settings.

As populations age and people live longer, healthcare professionals are needed to support individuals and societies from all corners of the globe. Unsurprisingly, management consultants McKinsey & Company estimates that globally, healthcare-related jobs “could grow by 80 million to 130 million by 2030”.

A report by Health Workforce Australia noted that “Australia’s demand for nurses will significantly exceed supply, with a projected shortfall of approximately 85,000 nurses by 2025, and 123,000 nurses by 2030 under current settings.”

Meanwhile, the UK Visa Bureau notes that healthcare shortage occupations include consultants with specialities in emergency medicine, old age psychiatry, haematology, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, among others.

Source: La Trobe University

Clearly, there are varied career options and good employability prospects for certain healthcare-related roles, making it an opportune time for students who are keen on studying health science to venture into the field.

Having said that, while opportunities in this field are abundant, healthcare is also undergoing rapid changes thanks to technological developments. Technology is not only shaping the world we live in, but also transforming lives and the way various industries operate.

In the same vein, healthcare is becoming increasingly digitised; technology is changing the way healthcare professionals work and treat their patients, striving to overcome some of the 21^st century challenges currently plaguing the industry.

For example, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) can help improve clinical care – AI can be used to help doctors interpret and diagnose patients. In physician training, the American Medical Association notes that the use of this emerging technology can “help predict sepsis in hospital patients, on average, five hours before patients met the clinical sepsis definition”.

Source: Auckland University of Technology

In light of this, prospective students keen on entering the healthcare and medical profession need to choose a programme that will not only equip them with the theoretical knowledge needed to navigate the rapidly-evolving digital health environment, but also the practical skills needed to thrive in the field.

So, if you’re passionate about healthcare and want to make an impact on individuals and communities, Study International has narrowed down three institutions that offer outstanding healthcare-related programmes.

Here we go:

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

Australia’s La Trobe University, known for its academic excellence and innovation, is ranked in the top 1.3 percent of 20,000 universities worldwide*. Graduates of La Trobe are in-demand, with employers rating La Trobe University second in Victoria for producing graduates with high levels of the foundation skills required for the workplace**.

The institution’s healthcare suite is unique as it offers Digital Health courses, equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in this emerging discipline.

Source: La Trobe University

Digital health’s growing importance to the future of healthcare can’t be overstated. As health information becomes digitised, organisations need professionals who understand data and technology in a healthcare context.

La Trobe University’s Digital Health courses offer many career opportunities and depending on your course, you may find yourself working across a range of environments, from hospitals and private practice, to insurance and the corporate sector.

The institution’s Digital Health suite includes the Master of Healthcare Analytics, Master of Health Information Management and Master of Health Administration.

La Trobe University has campuses across Australia, including the diverse and dynamic cities of Melbourne and Sydney, and is ranked in the world’s top 400 universities by all three major independent ranking agencies.

Talk to us today about your options to study Digital Health at La Trobe University.

*Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019; Webometrics Ranking Web of Universities 2018

**Employer Satisfaction Survey (ESS) 2018

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

If you’re looking for an institution with a variety of nationally-accredited and internationally-recognised health courses at undergraduate– and postgraduate-level, Curtin University’s Faculty of Health Sciences might just be it.

Source: Curtin University

Curtin is located in Perth, Australia, and has branch campuses in Dubai, Malaysia, Mauritius and Singapore. In addition to this, the institution offers course delivery through over 130 partner institutions worldwide.

Some of its undergraduate course offerings include medicine, nursing, paramedicine, occupational therapy, social work, speech pathology, pharmacy, physiotherapy, exercise science, psychology and public health.

Meanwhile, the school’s postgraduate options include those in nursing, midwifery, paramedicine, occupational therapy, social work, speech pathology, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, physiotherapy, exercise science, psychology, public health and higher degrees by research.

Curtin has a global reputation for excellence in education and research. The university prides itself with its strong industry connections, helping students enjoy a well-rounded education that’s applicable in the real-world.

The university has been steadily climbing the ranks – it ranks 301–350^th in the THEWUR 2019, up from the 351-400 band in the THEWUR 2018. In last year’s THE Asia-Pacific University Rankings, Curtin ranks 66^th, up from 69^th the previous year.

Find out more about Curtin’s programmes here.

AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (AUT)

AUT is one of New Zealand’s biggest health science education providers, offering students both clinical and non-clinical options. The university prides itself in creating career-ready graduates by drawing on research and industry practice.

Source: Auckland University of Technology

With three campuses spread across Auckland, AUT offers prospective health science students a host of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to choose from.

Some of AUT’s undergraduate options include midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, oral health, physiotherapy and podiatry. Meanwhile, postgraduate options include health practice, health science, nursing science, psychotherapy, and more.

AUT also has a solid research background in health sciences, having developed strong connections with the health sector and delivering leading research across the field of health sciences. Here, research projects are often developed collaboratively to address organisational and workforce needs.

Some of the school’s noteworthy projects include leading the world’s largest study of problem gambling treatments, run New Zealand’s only longitudinal study of Pacific Island families and have New Zealand’s only centre for eHealth.

Studying at AUT would mean studying among New Zealand’s best health science institutions.

According to THE, “AUT is consistently ranked #1 in New Zealand for International Outlook, with over 5,400 international students from 150 countries (Times Higher Education 2018).” AUT is also in the 301–350^th band in the THEWUR 2019 and is ranked 92^nd in the world for clinical, pre-clinical and health subjects by THE in 2019.

Find out more about their programmes here.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International