Health Sciences, Fremantle Campus

With a large number of degrees accredited by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and Exercise Sports Science Australia, the School of Health Sciences is proud to produce highly-skilled graduates with a strong service ethos. Our degrees reflect a diverse range of disciplines such as education, early intervention, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation.

A special feature of Notre Dame’s Health Sciences programs is the practicum and internship experiences that are a compulsory requirement of your studies. Your internship will take place in public and private hospitals, medical practice centres, community health centres, pathology laboratories, health promotion agencies, schools and voluntary service agencies. These experiences will maximise your employment prospects and guide your career aspirations prior to graduation.

Health Sciences

• Work Integrated Learning

  You benefit from plenty of hands-on industry experience – placements range from 150 hours in Biomedical Science to 27 weeks in Health & Physical Education. These placements are designed to maximise your graduate employment prospects and help to broaden your career aspirations. Students are placed in a wide range of work environments, including government departments, community health offices and adventure sports companies.

• Mentoring/Academic Support

  Notre Dame’s Mentor Program aims to smooth the transition from school (or work) to university life by linking first year students with student mentors. In addition, Student Success helps students formulate their goals and develop the skills and confidence needed to attain them. Student Success offers a range of programs, plus support for students with special educational requirements.

• Facilities

  The School of Health Sciences & Physiotherapy is housed in a purpose-built facility on the Fremantle Campus. The complex includes four gyms:

  • Exercise Physiology Laboratory/Gym
  • Biomechanics Laboratory/Gym
  • Strength and Conditioning Gym
  • Motor Control Laboratory

  The complex also includes a rehabilitation pool, 150-seat lecture theatre, computer laboratory, general purpose teaching and seminar rooms and offices.

Physiotherapy

• Educational Philosophy

  The Physiotherapy program at The University of Notre Dame Australia has a core educational philosophy to provide a highly personalised, student-centred, collaborative and active learning environment. Our innovative and authentic educational activities and assessments, aligned with a comprehensive clinical education program, produces professional, work ready practitioners and future industry leaders.

  We deliver a curriculum that integrates contemporary physiotherapy research to ensure the graduate’s ability to think critically and holistically, and to make clinically reasoned, evidence-based decisions with client-care at the centre of future practice. Our curriculum is inclusive of all aspects of Physiotherapy care across the lifespan, with particular importance placed upon cultural security, client centeredness and the ability to work as an integral member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team.

  The program curriculum and chosen educational strategies, reflecting best-practice in pedagogical theory and evidence, are well supported by robust, academic governance and quality improvement mechanisms that align with contemporary Physiotherapy practice. We assure public safety by holding our students, graduates and staff to high professional standards.

  Our educational philosophy is strongly influenced by The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Objects and Graduate Attributes, which promote service to fellow students, colleagues, patients, and members of the community. These qualities are modelled and emulated by the academic, research, administration and support staff across the Notre Dame Physiotherapy program, further promoting training for caring and competent future health professionals.

• Work Integrated Learning

  Students undertake a variety of clinical placements in a range of host facilities during their Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree to meet the Australian Physiotherapy Council's requirements that “The quality and quantity of clinical education is sufficient to produce a graduate competent to practise across the lifespan in a range of environments and settings”.

  Host facilities include, but are not limited to public and private hospitals, non-government and not-for-profit care providers, private practices and community health centres in both metropolitan and rural settings.

  In semester two of second year, students complete a dedicated ‘Preparation for Clinical Practice’ course which includes a four-week clinical learning experience.  Students then progress to completing a 5 week, full time Clinical Placement in third year and in their final year, students consolidate their learning further with four 5 week, full time Clinical Placements.

  This equates to around 1000 hours of workplace experience across the duration of the Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree.

• Facilities

  The School of Health Sciences & Physiotherapy is located on the Notre Dame campus in the heart of Fremantle.

  The School's facilities include a dedicated gymnasium teaching facility which is designed to fully prepare students to meet the increasing focus on exercise for the prevention and treatment of many modern health issues.

  Other campus facilities include lecture theatres, purpose-built laboratories and the campus libraries which hold print and digital resources, computer workstations, study rooms, and printing facilities.