The National Centre for Farmer Health will initiate and provide undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education for health and agricultural professionals, including general practitioners, nurses, allied health practitioners, veterinary surgeons, agronomists and primary industry personnel.

The first postgraduate level professional development opportunity to be offered by the National Centre for Farmer Health is the Agricultural Health and Medicine unit (HMF701) which will commence in February 2010.

Agricultural workers, their families and communities experience higher rates of traumatic injury, some diseases and suicide in addition to poorer treatment outcomes than their city counterparts.

These diverse health issues are not always covered by traditional health, nursing, agricultural and medicine courses.

The National Centre for Farmer Health is providing a unique multidisciplinary training opportunity to address this knowledge gap. 

The Agricultural Health and Medicine course (HMF701) is for anyone with an interest in farmer health, from nurses, general practitioners and allied health professionals to veterinarians, rural professionals, and policy makers.

HMF701 is a 5 day intensive program which will run from February 22nd to 26th 2010 in Hamilton, Western Victoria.

This course will be run through Deakin University School of Medicine, and successful completion entitles students to credit towards a postgraduate qualifications at Deakin or continuing education and professional development points for nurses, veterinarians and general practitioners.

The Centre has announced a  second round of scholarships for this course in 2010.  The closing date for applications is January 22nd 2010.

For further information please contact the National Centre for Farmer Health on (03) 5551 8533 or ncfh@wdhs.net.