Practice of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours per 12.5 credit point subject

To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted in the Graduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene or the Specialist Certificate in Practice of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. This subject is not available for students admitted in any other courses.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives 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 course are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Student Equity and Disability Support Team: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Effective practitioners of public health require sound laboratory, clinical and field skills to confidently work in tropical health settings. During this 25-point subject of the Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Health, students will gain real skills through hands-on activities and experience over a four-week period in Thailand, hosted by Mahidol University’s Faculty of Tropical Medicine.

Students will become familiar with a tropical health laboratory practice as they prepare, view, and recognise an unparalleled range of live and fixed laboratory specimens relating to tropical disease.

Three field trips will be held in different parts of Thailand on different aspects of tropical health:

1. Clinical.
2. Health care system and hygiene, including primary health care
3. Parasitological.

In the field students will:

• examine patients of diverse backgrounds in clinic and hospital settings, diagnose common and rare tropical diseases and create effective treatment and management plans.
• experience primary health care, the work of rural health volunteers, and the impact of livelihoods and nutrition programs on the health of rural families and communities.
• engage in parasitological collection/surveys, including for malaria, employing a variety of means and conducting examination of these in a field laboratory.

In addition, students will:

• learn from the long-standing experience of high level tropical health experts,
• interact with other local and international students undertaking tropical health studies, and
• experience first hand, and analyse the impact of environmental, structural and cultural factors in a tropical setting.

This subject is a core subject of the DTM&H.

Please note, in addition to the subject fee, students are required to cover costs of international travel and some accommodation in Bangkok. Explanation and guidance will be given to students in this regard.

By the end of this subject students will be able to:

• prepare, view and recognise light microscopy (and other) specimens relevant to tropical disease
• examine patients in clinic and hospital settings, diagnose tropical diseases and create effective treatment and management plans
• design and conduct field surveys for malaria and other tropical disease and disease vectors
• incorporate the expressed experience of tropical health experts into their own practice.
• critically analyse the impact of environmental, structural and cultural factors on health in a tropical setting

1. Short answer laboratory/microscopy examination (2 hours) - 20%
2. Field Trip Report(s)/case study (3,000 words) - 30%
3. Reflective Journal (1,000 words) - 10%
4. Written assignment (4,000 words) - 40%

Students will be issued key readings for this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this subject, students will have developed 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
• Leadership
• Persuasion and argumentation
• Using computers and relevant software