Groups Aquatic Physiotherapy Career Pathway
AG Professional Development
The Aquatic Physiotherapy Group has developed an identifiable professional development for those individuals interested in expanding their skills and advancing their knowledge in the field of aquatic physiotherapy. Aquatic Physiotherapy is unique field of practice as it encompasses a wide variety of presentations from paediatrics to gerontology and includes spinal, musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and neurological rehabilitation. The Aquatic Physiotherapy group is committed to supporting career-long learning from foundation knowledge related to working in an aquatic environment through to more specialised techniques.
Click here to view the Aquatic Physiotherapy Group professional development.
Level One Aquatic Physiotherapy Course
The Level One course is the first step in the professional development. The course is conducted over one or two full days depending on your undergraduate training and work experience. It is designed to provide participants with practical and theoretical knowledge on the physiology of immersion, hydrostatics and hydrodynamics and rotational control in water. It includes evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning skills and also covers the APA guideline document for physiotherapists working in and managing hydrotherapy pools. This year the course is running in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Level Two Aquatic Physiotherapy Courses
There are a range of Aquatic Physiotherapy Level Two courses that are being further developed with some input from other special interest groups of the APA. The courses vary from a half-day to two days and cover a range of more specific skills and evidence based practice in management of spinal stability and pain, paediatrics, neurological, cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. These courses include a broader range of facilitation techniques and exercise options. They also include a higher level of clinical reasoning in the planning of aquatic physiotherapy intervention. The level two courses will circulate in each state over a three-year period related to interest and need and they will continuously be developed and updated by the Aquatic Physiotherapy Group.
Level Three Aquatic Physiotherapy Course
The Level Three course has completed a review and will be reduced from 4 weeks in Melbourne to an intense 10-day practical and theoretical course running at the Victorian Rehabilitation Centre in October. Experienced Physiotherapists present at this course covering a broad range of topics and skills. The new course will involve some distance-learning units including physiology of immersion, physics, pool management, clinical reasoning and evidence based practice. Distance-learning units will commence in July. The distance learning units were produced in collaboration with International and local physiotherapists and educators from the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Bath, UK, Griffith University, Latrobe University, Monash University, University of Melbourne with assistance from experienced aquatic clinicians. The new structure is designed to reduce the time away from work and family and to make it more feasible for interstate physiotherapists to participate. There will also be a small research project completed as part of the course.
Last Updated - Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:02
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