Advanced Practice

Healthcare delivery is constantly evolving in the face of population growth, our increasingly diverse and ageing communities, changing approaches to delivering healthcare and availability of new technology. Health professionals need to be more collaborative, team-focused and adaptable than ever before.

Designed for working professionals

Online, flexible delivery with Commonwealth Supported Places, designed for busy healthcare professionals.

Co-designed industry specialisations

Choose a specialisation relevant to your current or desired career pathway.

Personalised capstone projects

Customise learning at the master's level to select a research pathway of your choice.

Develop your leadership capacity

Introducing our exciting new postgraduate Advanced Practice courses. Co-designed with major health providers for the health workforce, our Advanced Practice study options develop critical leadership capacity to meet the needs of health professionals from all disciplines.

Starting with the Graduate Certificate, you will complete core two units, providing you with a strong foundation in leadership skills and critical thinking. You can then choose two units from a curated selection of topics expanding your knowledge from a range of multidisicplinary fields.

The Graduate Certificate articulates directly into the Graduate Diploma and the Master of Advanced Practice, providing you with a seamless pathway to progress your career in a meaningful new direction and advance practice in your health organisation.

To help you advance your career, generous scholarships are available to employees of our valued industry partners.

Our Advanced Practice courses will build your leadership and critical thinking skills, expand your knowledge, and support you to achieve your career ambitions and personal goals, no matter your discipline.

Specialisations available in 2024

Broaden your knowledge in specialised aspects of the healthcare system that align with your current or desired career pathway. As an emerging or established health leader, you might choose to specialise in Governance, Strategic Communication or Organisational Performance to enhance your capacity within your current role. Or you could develop your skills in Workplace Psychology to better understand and lead your people. The choice is open to you.

You can also experience first-hand what our expert lecturers can offer you with our free, online masterclass series.

Learn from the global leaders in dementia education to help lead positive change

The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre is a global leader in dementia research and education, with a mission to transform the understanding of dementia worldwide. We offer leading online education, based on the latest research, that is suitable for everyone at any stage of their career.

The Dementia specialisation provides a global perspective on the impact of dementia on individuals and societies. It is aimed at health professionals building their expertise in aged care and dementia. The rising prevalence of dementia is creating new challenges and a pressing need for change in the way our systems and practices support people to live well with dementia - equip yourself with the expertise to lead transformation, based on the latest evidence.

The Dementia specialisation offers a comprehensive understanding of dementia from the perspectives of individuals, families, communities, healthcare systems and governments. You will explore a range of approaches aimed at supporting people living with dementia to maintain healthy lives and examine the ways that healthcare systems and government policy affect health and social care provision.

Lead the provision of safe, high-quality contemporary care

The Governance specialisation provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary healthcare quality and safety with a focus on person-centred care. Students will gain a broad understanding of governance, clinical governance and risk management within health and human services, focussing on recent developments and changes.

You will explore healthcare quality and safety, learn about the foundations of patient safety and quality improvement design within the healthcare arena and reflect on your own individual practice. You will examine current concepts and trends and barriers in risk management and governance and explore the issues and complex relationships between medico-legal issues, clinical error, consumer rights and services, occupational health systems, quality of service strategies, the systems and structures for the management of the law/medicine interface, and its governance in pursuit of reliable delivery of safe, high-quality care and services.

Choice units will allow you to explore aspects of clinical governance in more depth, with options focussed on health ethics and law, safety and quality, sustainability, and consumer engagement.

This Governance specialisation will support clinicians, clinical managers and those in other management roles to develop the knowledge and skills that are vital to the provision of safe, high-quality contemporary care.

Lead the change you want to see in the healthcare sector.

The Health Service Improvement specialisation allows you to improve existing health services and processes, with a central goal of improving patient care.

The content will provide you with the leadership skills to drive healthcare improvement through evidence-based solutions. You’ll learn about improvement theory and apply a suite of tools and techniques that encourage a problem-solving mindset.

Whether you’re a practising health professional in a public, private, or not- for-profit organisation, or a healthcare administrator, you’ll develop the skills to lead your workplace into becoming more efficient and person-centred.

Become a capable and responsive educator and supervisor

The Healthcare Education specialisation will develop your knowledge and skills to make you a more effective leader, educator and clinical supervisor.

In the core units, you will explore clinical supervision theory and practice and critically review models of supervision across professions and healthcare contexts using a framework for effective leadership and supervision. You will reflect on your own clinical supervision experiences and practice within the existing models and will analyse, reflect and plan improvements in personal supervisory practice.

Choice units will allow you to explore other aspects of healthcare education including simulation, learning and teaching in healthcare settings and educational professionalism.

The Healthcare Education specialisation is designed for health professionals working in a range of health and human service settings who want to develop skills in learner supervision, designing education for their peers, and developing educational interventions.

Master the dynamics of the healthcare environment to lead system change

Every health organisation needs qualified and passionate leaders. The Organisational Performance specialisation will support you to develop the skills to accentuate your natural leadership qualities or help you find skills you didn’t know you had. Within this specialisation, you will develop in-depth contemporary knowledge of health and human service systems across a range of leadership and management dimensions.

The range of choice units will allow you to explore aspects of organisational performance in more detail, including health data management, managing complex adaptive organisations, decision-making, monitoring performance and health finance and economics.

The Organisational Performance specialisation focuses on providing organisational performance management skills to emerging, middle and senior managers, clinicians, and health professionals working within health and human services.

Become a supply chain manager

The maritime and logistics industries underpin international business and world trade. They are a key element in sustainable development, and are tightly interconnected with human society: physically, socially and economically.

It is critical that our supply chains are managed by highly trained individuals and teams who can lead the development, implementation and control of sound contemporary management practices.

The Supply Chain and Logistics specialisation will prepare you for management and senior administrative roles in in a range of industries, including health. On completion of this specialisation, you can be confident that the skills, knowledge and networks you’ve acquired through study will allow you to succeed in a diverse range of areas including transport policy and administration, freight forwarding, exporting and importing, logistics and supply chains, and other critical elements of global international industry.

Become a more effective people leader

The effective management of human resources is becoming an increasingly vital concern in organisations, whether they are professional practices employing only a few staff, multinational corporations, public sector or not-for-profit organisations. The impact of globalisation, increased competition for talented employees, skills shortages and changing expectations of the employment relationship pose increasingly complex challenges for all organisations.

The Workplace Psychology specialisation introduces the concept of positive psychology into leadership practices and principles. You will critically explore the theories, constructs and models within positive psychology, and how they can be integrated into the workplace environment.

On completing the Workplace Psychology specialisation, you will be familiar with positive psychology concepts, be able to discuss these concepts critically, and be able to review the potential of positive psychology principles in terms of your own working relationships and leadership practice. You will have the potential to draw on a positive psychology perspective in your approach to your work to make you a more effective leader in health and human services.

Course options

We offer a range of course options designed to meet your professional and personal goals in the healthcare sector.

Graduate Certificate in
Advanced Practice

Graduate Diploma of
Advanced Practice
(Specialisation)

Master of Advanced
Practice
(Specialisation)

Duration: 1 year, up to a maximum of 3 years

Location:Online

Total 4 units (50 credit points)

  • 2 x core units
  • 2 x choice units

Duration: 2 years, up to a maximum of 5 years

Location:Online

Total 8 units (100 credit points)

  • 2 x core units
  • 2 x choice units
  • 4 x specialisation units

Duration: 3 years, up to a maximum of 7 years

Location:Online

Total 11 units (150 credit points)

  • Coursework pathway
  • Research pathway

Advanced Practice masterclass series

Experience first-hand what our expert lecturers can offer you with our free, online masterclass series.

Webinar topics cover the breadth of our Advanced Practice specialisations and choice units, as well as the core topics of leadership, and critical thinking. There are options to explore a new topic, or dive into something you are already familiar with and expand your knowledge.

Expand the accordions below to read more about each webinar, register to attend, and watch recordings of past sessions.

Digital Health

Future proofing the health care system - the role of digital health

Host: Sheree Lloyd
Duration: 60 minutes

Learn how digital health can enable a more equitable, responsive, sustainable, person centred health and social care system. We will share key insights to successful digital health adoption, introduce key concepts and demonstrate how digital health can advance health care systems and contribute to the achievement of the Quintuple Aim. Join us to learn how a short course and graduate certificate can boost your employability and professional development.

Digital Health is available as a choice unit in the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master of Advanced Practice. The University also offers a Graduate Certificate in Digital Health.

Neurobiology of Dementia

Understanding Dementia and its impacts on the public health system

Host: James Vickers
Duration: 60 minutes

This masterclass will focus on the latest developments in our understanding of the diseases that lead to dementia, why dementia is a substantial public health issue, and new approaches to therapeutics, risk reduction and early detection of dementia.

The Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice includes a specialisation in Dementia. The Dementia specialisation offers a comprehensive understanding of dementia from the perspectives of individuals, families, communities, health care systems and governments.

Organisational Resilience

Assessing your organisation’s resilience – Health and Hospitals

Host: Ben Brooks
Duration: 60 minutes

The Australian healthcare sector must enhance its resilience to operate in an increasingly complex and uncertain future environment. Our upcoming webinar will explore the key principles of organisational resilience how to evaluate organisational resilience in your healthcare setting.

Leading Resilient Organisations is a core unit in our Graduate Certificate in Organisational Resilience, and is also available as a choice unit in the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master of Advanced Practice.

Critical Thinking: Reasoning Skills for Health Professionals

Understanding and living with our cognitive biases

Host: Richard Corry
Duration: 60 minutes

This masterclass will introduce you to some of the cognitive heuristics and biases that we all share, and will look at the ways that they can lead us astray in our reasoning and decision making. We will then begin to discuss what we can do about this.

Critical thinking: Reasoning Skills for Health Professionals is a core unit in  the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master of Advanced Practice.

Healthcare Redesign and Health Service Improvement

A demonstration on how healthcare improvement can be achieved through evidence-based solutions

Host: Sarah Prior
Duration: 60 minutes

This masterclass will focus on the 8 Waste's in healthcare. Using evidence-based principles of healthcare redesign, we demonstrate how reducing waste can lead to improved outcomes for patients, families and carers, healthcare staff and organisations.

The Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice includes a specialisation in Health Service Improvement, which focusses on providing leadership skills to drive healthcare improvement through evidence-based solutions. Introduction to Healthcare Redesign is also is available as a choice unit in the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Advanced Practice.

Safety & Quality

Unlocking Excellence in Health Service Management (Safety & Quality): Your Path to Success

Host: Helen Almond
Duration: 60 minutes

Are you ready to take your career in health service management (safety and quality) to the next level? This webinar is your gateway to exciting opportunities and valuable insights.

Join us to gain awareness into why pursuing education in Safety and Quality in Health service management is a wise investment in your career and personal development. It equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in a critical and growing field within the health and social care industry while contributing to improved person-centred care and healthcare system efficiency.

The Governance specialisation in the Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary healthcare quality and safety with a focus on person-centred care. You will gain a broad understanding of governance, clinical governance and risk management within health and human services, focussing on recent developments and changes.

Supply Chain & Logistics

Developing efficiency and resilience in logistics and supply chains for health services

Host: Stephen Cahoon
Duration: 60 minutes

In the evolving global business economy, businesses must enhance and transform their logistics and supply chain systems to gain competitive advantage. With global supply chains evolving and expanding constantly, the understanding of how to develop and implement sustainable, effective, and efficient logistics and supply chain management strategies is key to the success of businesses in any industry.

The Supply Chain and Logistics specialisation in the Graduate Diploma of Advanced Practice will prepare you for management and senior administrative roles in a range of industries, including health. This specialisation will prepare you to succeed in a diverse range of areas including transport policy and administration, freight forwarding, exporting and importing, logistics and supply chains, and other critical elements of global international industry.

Public Health

An introduction to the tools necessary to make a difference in your community

Host: Louise Clark
Duration: 60 minutes

Our health systems have yet to fully embrace evidence use to inform change processes. This masterclass will explore theoretically informed approaches to the design, implementation, evaluation and sustainability of public health interventions.

Public health units feature prominently in the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Master of Advanced Practice. Choice unit options in public health include Introduction to Public health, Introduction to Epidemiology, Systems Thinking in Public Health, Outbreak Management, and Non-Communicable Disease Prevention.

Outbreak Management

Learn the skills and knowledge required to respond to communicable disease outbreaks and other public health incidents

This short course will provide you with the skills and knowledge required to respond to communicable disease outbreaks and other public health incidents, including the ten steps of outbreak management; assessment of public heath surveillance data and intelligence; using risk assessment frameworks; applying appropriate epidemiological, environmental and laboratory evidence; risk communication principles; and appropriate interventions.

Nursing students, Rozelle campus, Sydney

Health partner scholarships

To help you advance your career, we offer generous scholarships to our valued partner employees. Search for your employer, speak to your workplace, or contact us on 13 8827 to find out more.

Search for your employer

Career opportunities

Now, more than ever, the healthcare industry needs leaders equipped for an ever-evolving sector.  Health care and Social Assistance is the largest employing industry in Australia, with job opportunities estimated to grow up to 15% over the next three years.*

23.1%

Nurse Managers

16.3%

Human Resource Managers

9.6%

Practice Managers