Postgraduate education for health professionals working in Defence

In 2007-2008, Defence Health Service (DHS) personnel and the growing band of contracted health providers cared for 53,140 permanent Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and 24,885 reserve ADF members, not including the initial care of families accompanying members deployed abroad and other eligible civilians. Health providers in the Defence setting include medical assistants with various levels of advanced training as well as health professionals, predominantly medical practitioners and nurses, but also some other health disciplines, such as pharmacists, physiotherapists and health administrators. DHS personnel and contracted health providers require various levels of training to operate in different postings and sites within Australia and\ud overseas. This training is usually done through a\ud combination of in-house courses and through various programs of external educational institutions