Allied Health at Bond
The healthcare sector is evolving rapidly. New technology, early diagnoses, non-drug therapies, combined with societal shifts including the increasing and ageing population means Allied Health careers are more in demand than ever before.
At Bond University, we are putting our students ahead of the curve by developing Allied Health programs that look at the business of healthcare, health leadership and national and global health issues, to equip students with the right skills to navigate the changing healthcare sector.
Through our established Allied Health programs, which include Exercise and Sport, Nutrition and Dietetics, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, we’re focusing on evidence-based practice and problem-based learning, inspiring our students through interaction with internationally recognised academics and industry leaders in small, personalised classes.
All of our programs have been designed in alignment with the national and international industry requirements to ensure work-ready graduates.
What is Allied Health?
Allied Health is a term used to describe a diverse range of University-trained health professionals that work in a team with medical and nursing disciplines to ensure optimal health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals and the broader community.
Allied Health programs
Nutrition and Dietetics
Dietitians are health professionals with recognised expertise in the science of nutrition and dietetics. A career in nutrition and dietetics is rich and rewarding and can span a diverse range of work settings, such as clinical practice, food service, public health, sports nutrition, aged care, and research, to name just a few.
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Bond’s Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice program provides students with a foundation of nutrition science which is extended to the practice of dietetics with 24 weeks of professional placement internships. The program also provides exceptional experience in high-level research with a further 20 weeks of nutrition research internship. All students undertake an elective internship in a setting of their own choosing and gain a unique perspective into international nutrition issues and considerations through an international placement (or equivalent Australian domestic experience).
The program offers three exit points:
- Graduate Certificate in Nutrition
- Graduate Diploma in Nutrition
- Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice which is accredited by Dietitians Australia and has been granted candidate status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the USA
Occupational Therapy
With a shift to client-directed care models, Occupational Therapists are more in demand now than ever. Occupational Therapists work in a diverse range of areas including disability, rehabilitation, mental health, aged care and primary health services.
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Bond's Master of Occupational Therapy is the first in Australia to combine extensive clinical skills training with the opportunity to complete a clinical or business-focussed research project. This is a unique feature prepares graduates to develop skills at a proficient level; particularly in relation to roles such as Practice Manager, Change Agent and Scholarly Practitioner, as articulated in the Canadian Profile of Practice for Occupational Therapists. Our program also places a strong emphasis on practical workplace experience with extensive clinical placements in a variety of hospital, community and private practice settings ensuring that our graduates are distinguished by their exceptional patient skills and workplace ethics.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists (also called Physical Therapists) are highly-qualified, licensed healthcare professionals who use advanced techniques and evidence-based care to assess, diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of health conditions and movement disorders.
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Physiotherapists work in a range of settings that include private and public hospitals, community health services and private practice across the lifespan from paediatrics (children) to aged care.
Bond’s Doctor of Physiotherapy places a strong emphasis on clinical experiential learning with up to 50 per cent of the program undertaken in a clinical context. The program includes 36 weeks of clinical placements, which means our graduates are the preferred option for employers looking for highly trained and experienced practitioners, able to work confidently with patients from day one.
Exercise and Sport
Sport is in Bond’s DNA – from the multi-million-dollar Sport and Aquatic Centres on campus to the High Performance Training Centre at the Bond Institute of Health and Sport. If you have a passion for health, fitness, sport and the science of human movement or kinesiology, this is the place to be.
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The Faculty offers two distinctly different undergraduate degrees: The Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science and the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Performance. Both programs are based at the world-class Bond Institute of Health and Sport where you will work with high-performance athletes using training and testing equipment that sets the benchmark for industry standards.
The main point of difference between the programs is that the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science program offers a Capstone subject in the final semester, where students bring their skills and knowledge into a workplace-based research project. Also, the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science is accredited with Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), however the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Performance is not.
Successful completion of either of these degrees allows graduates a pathway into Bond’s postgraduate Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice, Master of Occupational Therapy and Doctor of Physiotherapy programs.
Allied Health at Bond - A Canadian's Guide
Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice student, Sarah Ashley Marko takes you on a tour of Allied Health of Bond, including the renowned facilities at the Bond Institute of Health and Sport.
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Practising in Canada
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Becoming a dietitian in Canada
Bond’s Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice (MNDP) program has full accreditation with the Dietitians Australia. Graduates have the opportunity to become full members of Dietitians Australia and can apply for Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) status, a credential which is recognised within Australia.
Canadian students who study nutrition and dietetics at Bond University in Australia may be eligible for a 3-year post-work study visa, with immediate recognition to work as an Australian dietitian.
In Canada, dietitians must register with the provincial regulatory body for their province in order to practice. Where a dietitian has been qualified in another country, there is a unique process that is managed by the provincial dietetic regulatory body. For further information about this process, visit Dietitians of Canada.
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Becoming an accredited occupational therapist in Canada
The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists requires a competency-based exam. to become an Occupational Therapist.
After completing 1,000 hours of field work* students are required to apply to the Association of Canadian Occupational Therapy Regulatory Organizations (ACOTRO) to have their credentials assessed by a process called Substantial Equivalency Assessment System (SEAS). This assessment is designed to confirm the coursework that has been completed and it includes a competency-based assessment to ensure that applicants can practice Occupational Therapy.
The assessment includes four sections:
- Academic Credential Review
- Profession-specific Credential Assessment
- Jurisprudence Admissions test
- Competency Assessment
Once this is complete, SEAS will send a report to the chosen province of work and the student will then be invited to write the National Exam (required in all provinces except Quebec) and be registered.
For more information, please visit caot.ca.
Bond’s Master of Occupational Therapy program is approved by the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia and is recognised by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Successful graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.
*The Bond University Master of Occupational Therapy provides a minimum of 1,000 hours of field work within the program.
Please note: International students wishing to return and practise in their home country or graduates wishing to practise Occupational Therapy in countries other than Australia must contact the professional accrediting bodies / associations in that country to determine requirements for registration. Bond University is not responsible for organising any registration of international students upon their graduation.
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Becoming a registered physiotherapist in Canada
Physiotherapy is a regulated profession in Canada. To become a licensed physiotherapist in Canada (excepting the province of Quebec) all graduates must pass the Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE). The PCE consists of two exams: a written, multiple choice exam and a clinical exam. To be eligible to sit the PCE, internationally-educated physiotherapy graduates must have their physiotherapy qualifications credentialed by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR). This is to determine whether their physiotherapy education is substantially different from a Canadian physiotherapy education.
Five criteria must be met to determine that an applicant’s international physiotherapy education is not substantially different from a Canadian one:
- Verification of identity.
- Completion of a university level, entry-to-practice degree in physiotherapy (ie. the Bond DPT).
- Successful completion of a minimum of 1025 hours of supervised clinical education.
- Fluency in English or French.
- Completion of a ‘Context of Physiotherapy Practice in Canada’ course.
If these criteria are met, applicants are eligible to apply to write the PCE.
For complete details, visit www.alliancept.org.
Study in Australia: Tune into our exclusive Canada broadcast
Stream our live broadcast to see for yourself why so many Canadians choose to study at Bond University in Australia.
Bond alumna in Canada
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Practicing in the United States
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Becoming a registered dietitian in the United States
Bond’s Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice (MNDP) program has full accreditation with Dietitians Australia. Graduates have the opportunity to become full members of Dietitians Australia and can apply for Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) status, a credential which is recognised within Australia.
American students who study nutrition and dietetics at Bond University in Australia may be eligible for a 3-year post-work study visa, with immediate recognition to work as an Australian dietitian.
The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) is the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the United States of America (USA), and are the agency that provide certification as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). To be eligible for the RDN credential, applicants must satisfy three conditions:
- Successful completion of both an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited didactic program in dietetics* and an ACEND accredited dietetic internship in the USA
- Successful validation of elements in (a) above by CDR
- Pass the national registration examination for dietitians in the USA
Most states require licencing to legally practice in the USA, and graduates must apply to the licencing authority in the State in which they wish to practice. Each State has its own licencing authority, and each authority has its own eligibility criteria for licencing.
*Bond University has been granted candidate status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) as a Foreign Dietetic Education program to prepare Registered Dietitian Nutritionists from May 2021. The program is currently accepting applications from prospective students . Graduates of a cohort designated as having candidate status have the same rights and privileges as graduates of an accredited program.
More information about the ACEND accreditation standards is available here.
Contact Assoc Professor Dianne Reidlinger for more information, email: [email protected]
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Becoming an accredited occupational therapist in the United States
Bond University’s entry-level Master of Occupational Therapy program has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)
of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, USA. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is +1 (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. The program must have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT)
. After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all US states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure
Note: Students must successfully complete all requirements of the Master of Occupational Therapy, including coursework and 24 weeks of Level II Fieldwork Practice Education within 4 years of commencement of the degree program.
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Becoming a registered physiotherapist in the United States
Physical therapy is a regulated profession in the United States of America (USA). To become a licensed physical therapist in the USA, graduates must apply to the licensing authority in the State in which they want to practice. Each State has its own licensing authority, and each authority has its own eligibility criteria for licensing.
An essential part of the licensing process is successfully completing the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). To be eligible to take the NPTE, physical therapists trained outside of the USA must have their education credentialled by an approved agency. This is a process where your completed physiotherapy degree is compared to the physical therapy education you would have received in the USA.
To be credentialed as having an equivalent education, you must have completed a Doctor of Physiotherapy program. You must be able to demonstrate that you have met all the educational criteria for your General Education, which comes from your undergraduate degree, and your Professional Education, which comes from your physiotherapy program. The Bond Doctor of Physiotherapy offers a program that has met the Professional Education requirements of the current evaluation tool, Coursework Tool 6.
In summary:
Step 1: Submit your educational portfolio to the Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy at www.fccpt.org and receive a “Report of Evaluation of Educational Credentials. ” Bond University DPT meets the criteria for equivalent education and will assist in this process.
Step 2: Apply to sit the NPTE exam and pass the exam
Step 3: Submit an application for professional licensure in the state of your preference.
Step 4: Contact FSBPT to release your NPTE examination score report to the state you have applied for licensure.
Step 5: Once licensed in one state, you can apply for endorsement for licensure in other states.Bond University has a dedicated staff member to work individually with students who are intending to practice in the USA and support them through the application process.
You can find out more information about physical therapy licensure in the USA and the NPTE here.
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Learn more about Bond's Allied Health programs from our Heads of Program and International Regional Managers, Natasha Rocco and Matt Stubbert.