Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

The Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing course is designed to enable students to:

• articulate and critically examine their own understandings of professional practice in working with young people in a variety of contexts;
• further develop and apply critically reflective, evidence informed approaches to adolescent health and wellbeing practice, program development and policy analysis;
• identify and analyse the broader social, cultural and environmental factors which impact on and influence practitioners and young people;
• analyse and critically evaluate contemporary theories of adolescence and adolescent development (including historical and cultural contexts), to enhance own practice in working with young people, families, communities and agencies;
• identify national and international adolescent health issues and trends and relate these to the broader socio-environmental contexts impacting on the health and wellbeing of young people;
• critically examine life-course or life-stage approaches to adolescent health recognising causal pathways;
• identify the principles associated with micro and macro approaches to practice and use these to develop enhanced prevention and intervention strategies when working with young people, families, communities and agencies;
• analyse, evaluate and apply ecological models of resiliency, risk and protection in adolescent health;
• engage young people, families and other professionals in the development and implementation of strategies to promote adolescent health and wellbeing;
• review current practice against established legal, ethical, confidentiality and professional principles / codes of practice and recommend strategies to enhance professional judgment;
• identify the professional settings and services which interact with young people and explore potential strategies to enhance inter-agency collaboration, communication and referral;
• develop strategies for engaging culturally diverse communities to enhance youth participation, active engagement, inclusivity and capacity building.

It is expected that on completion of this course students will be able to:

Communication and Advocacy Skills

• communicate effectively both orally, and in writing with a diverse range of audiences in a range of professional contexts (eg: when working with young people, families, agencies, other professionals and the Media);
• analyse and present arguments for change and inform these using relevant evidence from contemporary research and policies impacting on young people, their families and workers in professional practice settings;
• apply interview, conflict resolution and feedback strategies that reflect sensitivity to the needs of individuals and groups;

Capacity Building Skills

• work effectively, in a non-judgmental way with young people, different sectors and families from diverse cultural backgrounds and community contexts;
• develop collaborative ways of working and learning by contributing to cross-disciplinary networks and partnerships within/across the different agencies, sectors and professions which work with young people;
• develop approaches to initiate change (eg: in own organisation; when working with young people; in contributing to policy development; and, in continuing to develop and reflect on own practice);

Research and Evaluation Skills

• use a range of information and communication technologies to effectively locate, select, represent, communicate and manage information;
• analyse, critically evaluate and use contemporary research literature and professional information to inform development of evidence-based approaches to practice, program design, treatment approaches and policy analysis;
• apply a range of program evaluation approaches, including selection of appropriate evaluation methods, monitoring of the impact/outcomes of program developments and needs assessment;

Critical Reflection and Cognition Skills

• evaluate and apply different frameworks of thinking, theory and approach to inform decision making and professional practice;
• actively participate in collaborative, critical enquiry processes as a means of enhancing own learning and developing evidence-informed approaches to practice;
• identify, analyse and critically reflect on the relationship between context and health that impact on a young person, family, community or professional.

Legal and Ethical Skills

• recognise and apply the policy, legislative and organisational rules and guidelines within which professions practice:
• develop strategies for dealing with ethical issues in adolescent health care.

Students must satisfactorily complete eight (four core and four elective) subjects to qualify for the Graduate Diploma of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing.

Core Subjects

Elective Subjects

Choose 4 elective subjects (50 credit points) from the following list:

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• either
– an undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline such as Education, Health Science, Social Work or related discipline, or equivalent, or
– an undergraduate degree in any discipline, or equivalent, and at least two years of documented relevant work experience, or
– at least five years of documented relevant work experience, including clear evidence of career development, of professional writing, and generally of professional achievement or practice comparable to that expected of undergraduate degree holders;
and
• a curriculum vitae in a form prescribed by the Selection Committee.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic performance and/or work experience.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.

Note.
• Students who complete the Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (75%) will be permitted to transfer into the Master of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing with 100 points of credit.
• Students who enter directly into the Master of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing program (having not previously completed the Graduate Diploma) are required to achieve with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (75%) in the Graduate Diploma level subjects in order to progress to the final 100 credit points of the Master of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Students who fail to achieve a 75% average in the Graduate Diploma level subjects are eligible to receive the Graduate Diploma as an exit award if all relevant subjects have been passed.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

In addition to the objectives and capabilities outlined above, the Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing is designed to enable students to:

• demonstrate a commitment to critical enquiry and evidence-based practice so as to maintain currency with contemporary debates and continuously inform practice;
• analyse and reflect on national and international adolescent health issues and trends as they relate to particular communities and professional practice settings;
• further develop and apply principles associated with micro and macro approaches to practice in adolescent health and wellbeing;
• plan, implement and evaluate effective prevention, early intervention and intervention strategies relevant to work with young people
• further develop collaborative ways of working within/across the different agencies, sectors and professions which work with young people;
• implement change processes within and beyond their own organisation to enhance youth participation, engagement and inclusivity;
• implement and evaluate evidence-based practice strategies to as they relate to particular communities and professional practice settings.