Specialist Certificate in Travel Medicine

Health practitioners caring for new arrivals from endemic areas of tropical disease, or for travellers, require deep working knowledge of infectious and other disease to which exposure is common in the tropics. Furthermore, travel itself presents specific hazards and considerations for health.

This Specialist Certificate course encompasses a range of presentations and interactive activities which will cover:

• the epidemiology of tropical disease,
• prevention, diagnosis and management of tropical disease,
• vector-borne diseases
• food and water borne disease, parasitic disease
• dysentery and protozoal disease
• (for example, malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, filiariasis, schistosomiasis, tetanus, tuberculosis, acute respiratory disease and sexually transmitted infections/HIV)
• parasitology, entomology and helminthology,
• pretravel consultation and post-travel triage, determination of fitness to travel,
• vaccination, prophylactic medication and other strategies of disease prevention (travellers’ information and databases),
• accidents and emergency repatriation, and
• high altitude sickness, pregnancy (and other pre-existing health conditions) and travel.

This course will be taught on campus in block mode (10 days during a 2-week period).

By the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:

• express intimate understanding of the pathology of infectious disease important to tropical and travellers’ health.

• expertly practice prevention, diagnosis and management of key tropical diseases.
• effectively consult with travellers, and new arrivals from areas of high tropical disease prevalence, to design and implement tailored prevention/management strategies.
• access current information and databases relevant to tropical and travellers’ health.
• give consideration to specific non-infectious issues of health pertinent to travel and tropical regions.

This course is based on a core 25-point subject, “Management of Tropical Disease”. The subject is taught at Level 8 of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Core subject

• Medical Degree, e.g. MB,BS or MD (verified by endorsed academic transcript), or
• Nursing Degree (verified by endorsed academic transcript) and at least 5 years relevant experience in clinical tropical health (supported by written professional reference)

International students may be required to complete and produce endorsed proof of:

• an overall band score of 6.5 or more in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test with no band less than 6.0, or
• one of the following for the American Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL),
• 577 or more the paper based test, with 4.5 or more in the Test of Written English (TWE),
• 233 in the computer based test, including an Essay rating score of 4.5,
• 90 or more in the internet based test, with no band less than 21,

These requirements are consistent with the University of Melbourne’s principles of:

• a commitment to maintaining high international academic standards in its courses; and
• selecting from among applicants those likely to succeed in its courses.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Description, Course Outcomes and Generic Skills of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website.

The Melbourne Experience, enables our graduates to become:

- Academically excellent: have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship; have in-depth knowledge of tropical medicine and hygiene; reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication; be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning; be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.

- Knowledgeable across disciplines relevant to tropical and global health: examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across these disciplines; expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in various relevant subjects and settings; have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems; have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.

- Leaders in communities: initiate and implement constructive change in communities, including professions and workplaces; have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations; mentor future generations of learners; engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs

- Attuned to cultural diversity: value different cultures; be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work; have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community; respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values;

- Active global citizens: accept social and civic responsibilities; be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment.

The Specialist Certificate in Travel Medicine will allow students to develop skills in:

- Critical thinking and analysis

- Working with others and in teams

- Initiative, autonomy and organisation

- Problem-solving

- Oral communication

- Finding, evaluating and using relevant information

- Written communication

- Decision-making

- Persuasion and argumentation

- Using computers and relevant software