Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care

The Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care will appeal to a range of health professionals and aims to be the industry standard for working in palliative care.

The course is primarily delivered face to face, complemented by online resources and activities.

The Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care consists of four 12.5 credit point University of Melbourne accredited subjects, and is delivered by a range of experts in their field, who may be drawn from multiple institutions around Victoria as appropriate.

Course content will explore the core concepts of palliative care including;

pain and symptom management, the interface between aged care and palliative care, communication skills, non malignant diseases, psychosocial concepts, family carers, paediatric palliative care and bereavement care.

Course structure

• NURS90046 Fundamentals of Palliative Care (12.5 point subject)
• NURS90047 Adult Palliative Care (12.5 point subject) AND
• NURS90065 Paediatric Palliative Care (12.5 point subject) AND
• NURS90073 Contemporary Approaches to Bereavement (12.5 point subject) OR
• NURS90074 Psychosocial Aspects of Palliative Care (12.5 point subject)

All subjects are compulsory to achieve the Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:

• an undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification in medicine, nursing, allied health profession, science or social science, and
• documented evidence of at least two years relevant professional work experience in a medical, nursing, scientific or allied health environment.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking and/or assessing applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

• prior academic qualification and performance; and
• the professional 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.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to providingsupport to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website. http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Intended learning outcomes

Beyond the core curriculum of the Specialist Certificate, the Graduate Certificate will extend health professional competencies across a greater range of clinical areas. Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care should have increased knowledge, skills and competence in areas of bereavement care, adult and paediatric palliative care as well as a sound foundation in the core principles of palliative care.