Career Pathway and Specialisation

Fellowships of the Australian College of Physiotherapists (ACP) are national awards which are granted to members of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) in recognition of high standards of clinical skill and scholarship. Recently there has been considerable impetus and interest in the Fellowship by Specialisation, which follows the recent collaborative review of the specialisation processes by a joint committee representing the APA, the ACP and the National Special Groups. A brief review of the history as well as the contemporary position of specialisation provides the background which takes specialisation into the future.

Fellowship by Specialisation could be obtained following many years of relevant experience, a postgraduate qualification, teaching experience, publications and rigorous theoretical and clinical assessment. Several clinical leaders in physiotherapy undertook the specialisation process and successfully completed the requirements and processes of the examinations for Fellowship of the ACP.

The two avenues by which physiotherapists can gain a Fellowship of the ACP have been retained. Fellowships extend the career path and recognise the leadership and expertise of both clinical and research/academic physiotherapists. These are Fellowship by:

• The process of clinical specialisation from which successful candidates are entitled to call themselves a specialist in the relevant area of physiotherapy

• Submission of an original contribution in the form of theses or published works.

Last Updated - Tuesday, 02 September 2008 12:56