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Qualified practitioners, clinic supervisors and supervised advanced students are providing consultations on a full range of health services at Southern Cross University's Health Clinic. These services are all on offer to the community.

The purpose-built health and teaching facility provides consultations in naturopathy, osteopathy, exercise physiology, acupuncture, mental health nurse practitioner, educational and developmental psychology, massage and herbal medicine.

One of the unique features of Southern Cross University Health Clinic is that consultations are available through the Student Clinics - where senior fully supervised students undertake the consultation. Consultations are also available from private practitioners who provide services with Medicare and private insurance rebates, where applicable.

The clinic services are available for all members of the community as well as University staff and students. The clinic is currently open five days a week with hours of operation from 8am to 8pm. This provides an opportunity for anyone in the community to be able to take advantage of the services to suit their needs. As demand increases in the future it is anticipated services will also be offered on a Saturday.

"Southern Cross University was one of the first Australian universities to include complementary medicine as an option in their suite of health-related degrees," said Professor Iain Graham, head of the School of Health and Human Sciences.

"Holistic approaches to health and wellbeing have since become accepted as mainstream in the health care choices of people both in Australia and around the world." To complement this holistic approach the Health Clinic has now been able to include in health packages gym and fitness programs, which can be tailored to suit all health needs. This is in conjunction with the SCU Gym.

"Through the Southern Cross University Health Clinic, the University provides patient-centred health care education, offering inter-professional practice and learning that embraces the expanding definition of health care work," Professor Graham said.

Clinic manager Ms Marlene Assim said the range of services offered at the clinic were unique and encompassed complementary, allied health and main stream services with Medicare and health fund rebates available.
"We have a group of students completing their Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology and also private practitioners who can provide these services under GP recognised Care Plans," Ms Assim said. "This is a great service in providing health care for patients."

"We also have osteopathy, massage and naturopathy students overseen by registered practitioners who provide discounted services."

Professor Graham said the Clinic enabled the University to provide clients with access to highly trained health practitioners, while delivering affordable, professional, high quality services to the community. The Clinic also provides opportunities for students and staff to undertake health-related research projects.

"The Student Clinic helps to ensure that Southern Cross University's health graduates know how to apply their knowledge and skills in a supervised clinical setting." A full range of dispensary items such as herbal tinctures, herbal teas, nutritional supplements and homoeopathic remedies are also available at the clinic.

The SCU Health Clinic is located at the Lismore and Gold Coast campuses.

Updated: 03 April 2013