New Victoria University qualification to meet health-sector job demand

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY’S NEW BACHELOR OF HEALTH (BHlth) IS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE SKILLED GRADUATES FOR EMERGING AND IN-DEMAND JOBS IN THE WIDER HEALTH SECTOR.

The three-year programme begins in 2018. This non-medical degree offers students the chance to make a difference to people’s lives and to become leaders in the field of health. It’s led by passionate teachers and researchers from across Victoria University and has strong support from health-sector leaders.

The BHlth gives students a foundational understanding of health services, policy and strategy, the social aspects of health and how health issues affect populations in New Zealand and beyond.

Students will learn how to evaluate health issues and needs and consider action plans that will lead to lasting improvements to health and wellbeing. This includes a focus on Māori and Pasifika as well as other communities.

The choice of five majors, including Health Psychology, opens the door to a range of roles such as health promotion practitioner, health researcher, health software developer or information manager, to name a few.

For example, students taking the Health Software Development major will learn to develop applications and systems to improve healthcare delivery and help support breakthroughs in medical knowledge. This major fosters creative thinkers who will be well prepared for a career in the rapidly growing and changing digital sector.

In the Health Informatics major, students will learn about applying information technology to the business of healthcare to help solve problems and make decisions about healthcare and services. This is one of the largest growing areas in healthcare, and having this qualification will open doors in careers such as in health consultancy, health project management and business analysis.

Director of Research for Orion Health Kevin Ross says health is going through a revolution enabled by data and software. “We need a highly skilled workforce that can supplement their health knowledge with the insights from data analysis, ultimately designing better systems and policies for better health delivery and management.”

From 2019 a range of new postgraduate health qualifications will be on offer, and there will be clear pathways to other postgraduate programmes, such as the Master of Public Policy or Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Information Systems.

Students can also take advantage of other courses offered at Victoria, such as Education, Psychology or Public Policy.

With Wellington at the heart of New Zealand and the seat of government, Victoria is a great place to study health and wellbeing and make a real difference to health outcomes in New Zealand and internationally.