Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship

Overview

This 12-month fellowship is based at the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. The Fellowship is an accredited Program of Excellence in community child health.

Our program provides strong clinical and theoretical training in developmental-behavioural paediatrics, essential for advanced paediatric trainees who plan to specialise in community child health or to work as consultant general paediatricians.

Why choose the Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship?

The Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship learning objectives are aligned closely with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Physician Readiness for Expert Practice training philosophy.

We aim to provide trainees with a supportive learning environment with a trainee-centred supervision model.

Fellows will develop individual learning goals for the year and be paired with mentors with expertise in:

  • Clinical practice
  • Population child health research
  • Public health and policy development
  • Program development and evaluation 

We hope that graduates of our program will progress to not only be expert developmental-behavioural clinicians, but also the next generation of academic community child health paediatricians.

The program is based at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, and we cooperate closely with Monash Health, Barwon Health, Goulburn Valley Health and Sunshine Hospital. 

Fellows have community placements in North-West and South-East metropolitan Melbourne.

Applications

Applications for the Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship begin mid-year.

Application forms and further information are available from The Royal Children's Hospital's Junior Medical Staff department web page. Applications will take place via the Victorian Paediatric Advanced Training Portal. 

Program objectives

The Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship is designed to meet several of the learning objectives of the Community Child Health Advanced Training Curriculum.

The Fellowship is based on the knowledge, skills and attitudes outlined in the Professional Qualities Curriculum of the RACP. 

At the completion of this program, Fellows will have:

  • Gained a sophisticated understanding of normal and abnormal child development using the principles of developmental psychology and neurobiology.
  • Developed skills expected of a consultant paediatrician who assesses, diagnoses and manages children with a wide range of developmental and behavioural problems.
  • Gained an understanding of the health, education and welfare requirements of children with special needs (e.g. learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders).
  • Learned to work within and lead community service teams engaged in child and family health, education and welfare (e.g. schools and preschools, multidisciplinary assessment teams, maternal and child health services, family support services, and child protection services).
  • Gained an understanding of planning and management principles relevant to child health (e.g. program and policy design and implementation, use of information systems to inform program and policy development and evaluation, measurement of health outcomes, ethics and advocacy, principles of quality management).
  • Gained an understanding of the principles of child public health (e.g. demography, epidemiology, biostatistics, sociological foundations, environmental and cultural influences, illness prevention, research methodology, data collection, health surveillance, health promotion and health economics).
  • Developed skills in self-directed learning, evidence-based practice and critical appraisal, in preparation for lifelong continuing medical education.

Program structure

The program is initially conducted over one year. Some Fellows will go on to complete a second Senior Fellow year or use their Fellowship research project as a springboard to commence a higher research degree such as a PhD.

The program has three main components:

  • Clinical experience
  • Seminar teaching
  • Supervision

Clinical experience

Clinical experience is gained both in the community and in specialist hospital outpatient clinics.

Fellows are based with child and family services teams within the Department of Education, community health centres or local government services.

Fellows will develop skills in the context of multidisciplinary team work including:

  • Developmental and behavioural assessment
  • Behavioural management
  • Learning difficulties
  • Child disability
  • Child protection
  • School health

These community settings enable Fellows to develop wide perspectives of the needs of children and their families, and an understanding of the roles played by various professionals and services in delivering health, educational and social services.

Clinical experience is also gained in specialist developmental clinics at:

  • The Royal Children's Hospital
  • Monash Medical Centre
  • Specialist services in the Geelong, Shepparton and Sunshine regions

Clinical experience emphasises the important links between hospitals and the community in preventative treatment and research aspects of healthcare.

Seminar teaching

The weekly seminar program is accredited as a Program of Excellence by the RACP. Seminars complement the clinical experiences by providing a practical and theoretical background in community child health, including a broad public health perspective.

A weekly journal club exposes trainees to new research in the field, including research carried out at the Centre for Community Child Health.

Supervision

Individual and group supervision is facilitated by a senior consultant.

Supervision supports each trainee to attain goals for the training year and provides a basis for evaluation and development of the training program.

Research opportunities

Fellows are encouraged to take on a population paediatric or developmental-behavioural research project and will be matched with a suitable mentor. We encourage and support Fellows to work towards a peer-reviewed publication or conference presentation.

Positions available

The following positions are available at The Royal Children's Hospital.

Fellow in Community Child Health

Developed for advanced paediatric trainees interested in a career in community child health. These positions are also suitable for advanced trainees who will pursue a general paediatric career pathway.

The program emphasises strong clinical training in community and hospital settings and provides an introduction to public health and population paediatric research.

Senior Fellow in Community Child Health

Developed for advanced paediatric trainees interested in an academic or leadership career in community child health. This program includes a strong public health and research component as well as a clinical component in a community setting.

Wimmera Telehealth Outreach Fellow

This position is developed for trainees interested in a career in community child health. It is especially suited to those interested in supporting regional / rural child health using telehealth and virtual conferencing to provide consultation and capacity building to the local health workforce.

For 2025, positions will be advertised early July on the statewide recruitment service Victorian Paediatric Advanced Training Portal or further information via The Royal Children's Hospital e-recruit service Success Factors.

Curriculum and program requirements

The Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health is based on the RACP Community Child Health Advanced Training curriculum.

We provide a comprehensive year of training which is accredited for developmental/psychosocial general paediatric training, and developmental-behavioural, community multdisciplinary, social paedatrics and non-core Centre for Community Child Health training. 

Participation in our Fellowship program includes a weekly seminar program that fulfils the requirements for the 12-month Community Child Health Educational Tutorial Series.

For further details on the course objectives, goals and curriculum please download the 2024 Curriculum Handbook.

Enquiries

Please forward enquires to:

  • Ms Melissa Hirst, Administration Coordinator
  • Associate Professor Gehan Roberts, Coordinator of the Victorian Training Program in Community Child Health Fellowship
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Phone: (03) 9345 5851