News

New OT student apartment at Canberra campus

ACU Canberra’s new occupational therapy apartment, a state-of-the-art teaching and simulation lab, has been officially opened.

ACT Chief Minister Mr Andrew Barr and ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis officially opened the apartment for ACU’s first Canberra occupational therapy students to hone their skills in assessing and supporting patients.

ACU’s Professor Elspeth Froude, the national head of the school of allied health, said the university introduced the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy to Canberra this year to establish a pipeline of qualified occupational therapist in regional areas amid a shortage of professionals.

“Occupational Therapy is very much in demand, and we want to provide a pathway for students living in the region to be able to access this qualification,” Professor Froude said.

“Occupational therapists work with people in the community and in their own homes and the OT apartment will help students to develop vital skills to work in people's homes.”

ACU Canberra’s OT students will use the apartment to practice skills such as transferring patients off the bed, in and out of wheelchairs, on and off the toilet and learn how to assess the layout of a person's surroundings to recommend adaptations that enable them to participate in home-based tasks such as meal preparation.

“We are able to immerse students in authentic, real-world scenarios from day one so they can develop their skills in relating to people, to understand context, to understand what facilitates a person's inclusion in the activities they want,” Professor Froude said.

The apartment adjoins the teaching classroom and offers a kitchen, laundry, bathroom, toilet and lounge spaces complemented by a full simulation capture recording system.

Canberra campus dean Professor Darius von Guttner said ACU introduced the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy to its Canberra campus for the first time this year, expanding the program to now be available at five campuses.

“Canberra is facing a critical shortage of allied health professionals, and occupational therapy is one of the areas where the need is most urgent,” he said.

“By introducing this program here, ACU is responding directly to that challenge. The new OT apartment ensures our students gain practical, hands-on training from their first semester so they graduate ready to meet the region’s workforce needs.

“This is about more than education. It is about ensuring the people of Canberra and the surrounding region have access to the skilled healthcare professionals they deserve.”

Media Contact: Elisabeth Tarica, Australian Catholic University on 0418 756 941 or Elisabeth.Tarica@acu.edu.au