A great job in health doesn’t just mean being a doctor or nurse – USC now has qualified graduates in a range of specialised careers in the ever-expanding health sector.

Discipline Leader and Lecturer in Public Health Dr Jane Taylor said health promotion graduates were currently in great demand.

“USC now offers a Bachelor of Health Science majoring in Applied Health Promotion and a Master of Health Promotion,” she said.

“Career opportunities include working on health campaigns, health policy development, disease prevention, project development and management, community and international health, with jobs in government, hospitals, private health care and not-for-profit organisations.

“Some of our students are securing great jobs before they even graduate.”

Recent employment success stories for USC health promotion students and graduates include a diverse range of positions.

Final-year student Natalie Glasgow of Morayfield has recently started work as Moreton Bay Region Project Officer for Good Sports, an Australian Drug Foundation initiative.

“I’m looking forward to working within my local community and introducing the Good Sports program to local sporting clubs to encourage responsible drinking practices as well as healthy eating,” said Natalie.

Nicole Cool of Mudjimba and Kristel Alla of Maroochydore (pictured) are both studying for a Master of Health Promotion at USC and are both already working at Sunshine Coast Medicare Local.

Nicole has been with SCML for more than a year and is now the Community Events Project Officer, working on events such as Mental Health Week, Men’s Health Week, Heart Week and Healthy Weight Week.

Kristel began a three-month work placement there in November and is now employed as the Project Officer, Monitoring and Evaluation, currently working on a program to enhance primary health care in general practice by developing better practice processes around chronic disease management.

Deb West of Deebing Heights near Ipswich completed the Graduate Diploma last year and is now working with BreastScreen Queensland for the West Moreton Hospital and Health Service. She coordinates the mobile breast screening van that travels to local communities and makes screening and early detection more accessible.

Meanwhile, former Buderim nurse Loral Courtney recently completed USC’s Master of Health Promotion after deciding that she wanted to concentrate on illness prevention.

Loral now works at Lives Lived Well, a leading state-wide drug and alcohol support organisation based in Brisbane where she is the community development officer working in alcohol harm prevention.

USC has this year introduced a suite of Health Science degrees with majors in Applied Health Promotion, Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Communication, and Applied Environmental Health. Another new degree in 2015 is the Bachelor of Health and Community Care Management.

For enrolment information visit the How Do I Apply, or contact USC student administration on t: 07 5430 2890 or email: information@usc.edu.au.

— Jane Cameron