Educational activities

STIRC provides medical practitioners, laboratory scientists and other healthcare professionals with a wide range of educational opportunities in the areas of sexually transmitted and HIV infections. Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials, interactive websites, clinical placements and laboratory attachments. Using these methods, students can learn about the whole spectrum of these conditions, from molecules to prevention strategies.

Courses and Units of Study via the University of Sydney

Students can be accepted on a full or part time basis. We encourage students to enrol in our Master of Medicine (MMed STD/HIV) or Masters of Science in Medicine (MSciMed STD/HIV) course, which are comprised of a number of units of study. However, it is possible to enrol individually for a number of Units of study.

Many of our Units can now be completed entirely online.

The University of Sydney delivers most of its courses in the form of combination of Units of Study. Each Unit has a unique code (such as SEXH5200), and an allocated number of credit points. The credit point allocation reflects the amount of time a student is expected to spend on learning activities for that particular Unit. For each credit point, a student is expected to spend two hours per week over the thirteen-week semester. Thus, for a 6 credit point Unit, students are expected to spend 12 hours per week on the topic material. This learning time can be in a variety of formats, such as lectures, tutorials, private reading, clinical placements etc.

Each Unit of Study has defined admission criteria, Aims and Objectives, and a brief outline of the content and assessment methods.

Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching

STIRC's educational activities include teaching sexual health medicine to undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. We have developed a very innovative and interactive program for sexual health teaching for the graduate medical program at the University.

The Unit also has an extensive postgraduate teaching program mainly through the Master of Medicine/Science - STDs/HIV (University of Sydney) degree course, but also through teaching seminars for GPs and participation in the MPH at Sydney University. The Master of Medicine/Science - STDs/HIV degree course attracts Medical and Science graduates from Australia and overseas. Up to the end of 1995 this course was the only postgraduate course in sexual health medicine in the world. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine together with University College London have recently developed an MSc in Sexually Transmitted Diseases with several of the modules directly based on the Master of Medicine (Sexual Health) at Sydney University.

Credentials and reputation

The Unit has established a national and international standing. Members of the Unit serve on Area and State Committees, Editorial Boards of international journals, and Advisory Panels for various international drug companies. In addition, several members of the Unit have been involved in the organisation of international conferences.

Establishing networks is an essential element of any new organisation and we have developed a number of useful links, locally, nationally and internationally. Some of these include research links with a number of sexual health clinics in Australia and New Zealand; research and administrative links with the National Centre for HIV Clinical Research and Epidemiology and the National Centre for HIV Social Research and research links with the Westmead Institutes for Health Service Research, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Westmead Hospital, the Department of Infectious Diseases at Sydney University and University London.

Members of the Unit are also actively involved in writing scientific papers, editorials and reviews which assists in the process of information communication to the wider scientific community. Senior members of the Unit are often involved in advising or briefing health authorities and the media about specific sexual health issues. Notable amongst these has been the considerable advice provided to the Western Australian Health Department concerning the changes to the organisation of sexual health within the state, and the provision of extensive advice regarding the running of brothels in New South Wales.

Media interviews have also been extremely important with considerable interest in the development of herpes and HPV vaccines, safer sex among sex workers, the use of condoms, and concerns about the age of consent and implications of this for the adequate provision of services.