Alumni in profile
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Bachelor of Laws 2004
How wide ranging can the interests be of a physician and psychiatrist in training?
For Dr Richard Baker, one of those extremely well-organised people who loves to study, time expands to include the pursuit of any knowledge or qualifications that will enhance his specialty.
In 2004 Richard completed a Bachelor of Laws from Deakin University, also winning the Supreme Court Prize as the top law graduate for the year. And, most unusually, he did this over six years, through distance education.
"During the high-speed revision and residential weekends run by Deakin, I met many people from different backgrounds," he says.
"None of them could just stop work and be without an income so, just like me they had chosen Deakin's distance education course as an alternative to studying full-time on campus."
"Law is very difficult because it has a certain way of looking at issues. But the teaching was excellent, always emphasising the practical side. The overall effect was very stimulating so that the work could be applied to real situations."
Dr Baker enjoyed the analytical side of the course as well as the practical ways of court procedure.
"We had a most interesting trust account law teacher," he said, adding that he was very good at maths at school.
"In fact the university went out of its way to support distance education students."
"There is an off-campus library system where books are sent out with pre-paid envelopes so you never need go on campus."
"I could catch up on audio-stream lectures at 6 am or 9 pm - whenever I had a spare hour."
"Really, if anyone wants to study law but has a job they can't leave, I would definitely recommend Deakin as a fantastic organisation to study and work through."
Not many medical practitioners would consider a double degree with law, as both require extreme dedication. But according to Dr Baker, the combination is not completely irrational.
"Psychiatry and law are closely intertwined," he explains.
"Psychiatrists have the power to override an individual's human rights for the protection of themselves and others. This is an enormous responsibility."
"They also assess whether a person is fit to stand trial in a court of law - did they know what they were doing at the time of the crime?"
"Victoria has one of the world's leading forensic psychiatry hospitals. It was during an elective rotation I did there that the practical usefulness of a law degree was confirmed for me."
"Without Deakin's off-campus study method, a physician in training like me could simply not have done it."
"You don't have to get up at six in the morning to listen to lectures that you have missed. But being free to work and read when you are relaxed is more refreshing and promotes good time management for people who have already spent their late teenage years full-time on campus."
