3rd July 2008

Professor David Prideaux and Ms Jennie McCulloch, conference organisers sampling
some of the produce of Middlebrook Winery.

Plans are well underway for reviewing and renewing the courses offered in the School of Medicine. Recommended changes will be the focus of the School’s 2008 Curriculum Conference at Middlebrook Winery on 17 October 2008.

The conference is being coordinated by Professor David Prideaux, Deputy Dean of the School and Head of the Department of Medical Education.

“Our School is about to embark on a renewal of all of its courses,” said Professor Prideaux. “We have two Task Forces working on this. One is looking at our medical course and the other is looking at our health profession courses, looking particularly at how the Bachelor of Medical Sciences, the Bachelor of Health Sciences and the Bachelor of Biotechnology will be feeder courses for a new approach to health professional education in our School. And the School is also considering options for the introduction of new health professional courses”.

“We have chosen a great venue for the curriculum conference, the picturesque Middlebrook Winery in McLaren Vale,” said Prof Prideaux. “It’s an ideal setting with plenty of breakout spaces and a great menu, and it is only 20 minutes from Flinders University. At the end of the conference, we will have a free gourmet BBQ, so we can enjoy our surroundings and enjoy our work for the day. It should be very conducive to creative thinking and collaboration across disciplines”.

Professor Prideaux said “This is a very timely review of all of our teaching and how it fits within the new governance and organisation of our School. It will take us forward to our rightful place as one of the most innovative medical schools in Australia and internationally”.

"Many people are involved in the Task Forces, and collectively they will be making reports at the curriculum conference on 17 October. This will be an opportunity for everybody to engage in discussion, debate and critical review of this planning. The end result will be a set of clear directions for us to move forward and implement the new proposals by 2010. All academic staff, academic-status and general staff are welcome. And the students who are contributing to the various Task Forces are also invited. We’ll also extend an invitation to some of our partners, Deakin University and Griffith University, so they have an opportunity to see how we plan to renew our curriculum".

"The conference is very significant," said Prof Prideaux. "It will look at all of the courses across our School, we will develop a new approach as a health professional school involving medicine and a range of other courses. I encourage as many staff as possible to register for the conference to contribute to this renewal process”.

View the Curriculum Renewal web pages for more information.

Middlebrook Winery

← back to Feature Articles archive