By Peter Hanlon
The many people undertaking postgraduate studies in health cover a broad spectrum, from nurses, doctors and allied health professionals looking to further their careers, to those from outside the sector who don’t have the clinical skills but want to contribute to the wider health system.
People like Rose Lewis, who completed a bachelor of business and applied finance and bachelor of law before realising her passion for social justice and advocacy made a master of public health the ideal springboard for the career she craves.
“It’s exciting for me, particularly as somebody who came from business and law. My story is an example that it’s possible to make the switch,” the 26-year-old Western Sydney University postgraduate student says. “If I keep on this trajectory I can have a real impact in my community, that’s something that keeps me optimistic.”
Rose Lewis with parents Brendan and Anna at her graduation from Western Sydney University.
WSU’s director of academic program (postgraduate health sciences), Professor Arianne Reis, reports significant growth in postgraduate studies since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the migration of health professionals into the public health space reflected in the job market.
While the master of public health is WSU’s most popular postgraduate course, uptake has grown across the board. A master of health science can lead to specialisation in health services management, while the digital health program looks at the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health.
“A lot of organisations are investing in their staff to do those postgraduate studies, it allows people to get back into their critical-thinking hats,” Reis says. “It gives you the opportunity to go back and think deeply about the issues you might be facing ... day-to-day.
Paramedicine training at Western Sydney University is increasingly digitised.
At the University of Melbourne, the Collaborative Practice Centre opened last year to drive what faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences’ deputy dean, education Professor Elizabeth Molloy calls “a cultural change in healthcare”.
Research and clinician education foster new ways of working, with technology serving as “another player in the team”.
The growth of AI in this space is underscored by Professor Wendy Chapman, director of the digital transformation of health at Melbourne University, who says AI won’t replace clinicians, “but clinicians who know how to use AI will replace those who don’t”.
“Clinicians will be key in avoiding harm and realising the benefits,” Chapman says. “They need to ask questions about how the tools are trained ... they also need to help develop workflows in which AI can deliver value to them.”
Rose Lewis’ pathway was influenced by years of volunteering with the Multicultural Youth Affairs Network of Australia, which included a national campaign for breast, bowel and cervical cancer targeted at multicultural communities. When health promotion and education overlap she is emboldened; in the health system she sees a willingness to address systemic challenges such as racism and women’s rights.
“In my first semester I got to dig into two subjects that interested me – people experiencing homelessness and e-cigarettes,” Lewis says, loving that students are encouraged to let their passions guide their studies. “The [master of] public health degree provides a really good structure to let you explore those topics in society.”
She shares classes with nursing, dentistry and epidemiology students, many from Asia, Africa and Europe who have practised in their homelands and want to further themselves or take on leadership roles.
Reis says the sort of transition Lewis is making is becoming more common, noting an alum she caught up with recently had previously been an engineer with a passion for aged care, who, by completing a master of health science, now works in a Department of Health management position.
“We see a lot of people coming from other backgrounds who have an interest in health, don’t want to go through the very lengthy and demanding clinical courses but still want to contribute to the health system,” Reis says. “So, they come into our masters programs.”
Lewis is more than a year away from completing her postgraduate studies but is already keeping an eye on the job market and getting excited about where it might take her. Interesting positions in her area “are popping up all the time”.
“I could have a job that pays well and is on a trajectory to keep having social impact, which for me is pretty much non-negotiable,” she says. “I’ve always been committed to social justice, but I lose enthusiasm if it doesn’t feel like I’m working towards improvement in my community.
“Public health does that – I’m way more satisfied than I was thinking about which business or law firm I could work for.”