Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Health Specialisation

The Graduate Certificate in Child and Adolescent Health Nursing offers effective and specific education for generalist, child and adolescent community health nurses and midwives to prepare practitioners capable of fulfilling these diverse practice roles. Community health practice is modelled on a primary health care framework with the aim of promoting health, preventing disease, implementing early intervention strategies, managing individual cases and working in collaborative partnerships with clients. Embodied in the primary health care approach are the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention that are provided by community health specialists. Given the autonomous work, practising in the community requires professional skills and specialist preparation in these areas of community health. The practice domain includes individuals, families, groups and whole communities. Australia's diverse multicultural society necessitates that community health clinicians are able to undertake relevant research and provide relevant evidence-based sociocultural health support to the profession and members of the community throughout their lifespan.

• identify and apply principles of primary health care into practice to maintain optimal wellbeing of the individual, family and community
• assess the environmental, physical and psychosocial aspects of the individual, family and/or community to determine and plan the health care needs within a community practice setting
• locate, extract and interpret relevant evidence and scientific literature
• communicate both verbally and written, in a way the individuals, family and professional colleagues can understand
• use appropriate technologies to practice community health practice
• demonstrate ability in interdependent and self-directed learning
• incorporate learning opportunities in community practice
• recognise national and global community health issues and strategic health care directions; relate these to community practice
• provide culturally aware and respectful health care provision to multicultural groups and Indigenous communities; demonstrate professional and ethical practice in community health; work collaboratively within an interdisciplinary health care team