Alfred Health

La Trobe nursing and allied health students undertake clinical placements at Alfred Health, with postgraduate nursing degrees offered in priority clinical areas. The Alfred Health ARCH also provides allied health and nursing clinicians with entry to practice and on-site postgraduate education opportunities.

In collaboration with the A+ Alliance, there are also research opportunities for Masters, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers. There is access to laboratory spaces for patient testing, and resources and facilities for education, clinical trials, and biomedical research.

The partnership embodies Alfred Health’s vision and values: to improve the lives of patients and their families; to use education and research to set new standards for tomorrow; and to share ideas and demonstrate behaviours that inspire others to follow. A key objective is to co-partner in consumer-informed research to improve health, wellbeing, and patient experience.

About Alfred Health

Alfred Health provides the most comprehensive range of healthcare services in Victoria through three hospital campuses (Alfred, Caulfield, Sandringham), a large network of community programs and 14 state-wide services.

Alfred Health’s primary catchment covers the inner south of Melbourne, which currently numbers over 700,000 people.

As a leading health service, Alfred Health undertakes more than 8,600 elective surgeries at The Alfred and 7,700 at Sandringham Hospital annually; treats over 1,500 major trauma patients at The Alfred; and treats blood cancer patients from around the country in Australia’s largest centre for blood cancer treatment.

Alfred Health’s state-wide services include the Bariatric Service; Clinical Haematology and Haemophilia Services; Cystic Fibrosis Service; Heart and Lung Transplant Service; Hyperbaric Medicine Service; Major Trauma Service; Malignant Haematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Service; Psychiatric Intensive Care Service; Sexual Health Service; Specialist Rehabilitation Service; Victorian Adult Burns Service; Victorian HIV/AIDS Service; Victorian Melanoma Service; and the Victorian Neuropathology Laboratory Service.

Research at Alfred Health aims to improve policies, practices and treatments in the healthcare system and the broader community. Alfred Health recognises that a culture that encourages research excellence and leadership, along with a commitment to excellence in research training, creates an environment that attracts and retains outstanding staff and research students. This is exemplified by Alfred Health's longstanding research and educational collaboration with La Trobe University and the A+ Alliance. The Alfred Research Alliance brings together eight independent and diverse organisations to create a community of excellence for medical research and education.

Research

The partnership between Alfred Health, La Trobe University and the A+ Alliance fosters knowledge generation, research translation and opportunities to develop innovative health solutions with consumers. Training the next generation of health and social care researchers is also a priority.

The partnership generates high quality evidence to guide person-centred care and inter-professional practice, with a strong focus on multi-site clinical trials.

The research programs includes:

• Stroke rehabilitation and recovery
• Digital technology and other innovations to improve outcomes for complex chronic conditions, including the Connected Health NHMRC CRE in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Disease Outcomes
• Nursing and health workforce
• Rehabilitation and exercise for people living with complex chronic conditions
• Neurological rehabilitation
• Aged care and chronic disease management

Education

The partnership between Alfred Health and La Trobe University provides education, training and clinical education placements for nursing and allied health students across acute hospitals, rehabilitation services, mental health settings, emergency, aged care and community services.

Each year Alfred Health provides more than 8,500 clinical placement days for students in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, dietetics, podiatry, orthoptics, orthotics and prosthetics, and speech pathology. The number of pre-registration students undertaking clinical placements with Alfred Health continues to grow.

The education partnership includes undergraduate nursing students and co-delivery of the Master of Nursing (which hosts streams in cardiac, peri-operative, post-operative and acute care) and the Master of Nursing Science. This postgraduate program ensures that Alfred Health clinicians working in these specialty areas have the skills to provide high quality, evidence-based services.