Bachelor of Podiatric Medicine

Western Sydney University

About

Podiatrists are best known for treating problems that people experience with their feet and lower limbs, but they are increasingly playing an important role in addressing chronic conditions such as diabetes and rheumatology.

Podiatrists treat a range of patients including children, adults, workers, sportspeople and the older population.

There is a focus on podiatric applications including management of common problems such as ingrown toenails or bunions, chronic disease management, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, footwear assessment and orthoses fabrication.

Over the course of the program students will complete 1000 hours clinical hours inclusive of Uniclinic sessions and 19 weeks of clinical placement in a range of facilities including hospitals, community centres, private practices, and sports medicine centres, in rural and metropolitan locations.

Continuing education on completion of the program can lead to opportunities for advanced practice such as restricted therapeutic prescription rights and application for training as a podiatric surgeon.

The course in podiatry is offered as a 4-year Bachelor of Podiatric Medicine.

The first three years of the program combine studies in podiatry with a broad understanding of biomedicine and various health science fields to develop the professional competencies important for ethical and safe practice and high quality care and the skills to work in multidisciplinary teams.

The final year focuses predominately on podiatry practice skills, practical experience and specialised areas.

Evidence-based practice is one of the most important trends in healthcare today and a strong feature of the program.Accreditation The Western Sydney University Bachelor of Podiatric Medicine is an accredited program of study and students are eligible to register with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

This course has been accredited by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Structure

Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 320 credit points which include the units listed in the recommended sequence below.

Recommended Sequence

Code	Name
400870	Population Health and Society

Code	Name
400868	Human Anatomy and Physiology 1

Code	Name
400905	Introduction to Podiatry

Code	Name
401396	Professional Competencies in Health

Note: Unit 401396 Professional Competencies in Health replaces 400871 Professional Health Competencies from Autumn 2021

Code	Name
400869	Human Anatomy and Physiology 2

Code	Name
401383	Evidence in Health

Note: Unit 401383 Evidence in Health replaces 400863 Foundations of Research and Evidence-based Practice from Autumn 2021

Code	Name
400732	Communication in Health

Code	Name
401410	Functional Anatomy

Note: Unit 401410 Functional Anatomy replaces 400881 Functional Anatomy from Autumn 2020.

Code	Name
401181	Pathomechanics and Podiatric Medicine

Code	Name
401140	Biomechanics

Code	Name
401403	Research Methods in Health

Note: Unit 401403 Research Methods in Health replaces 400864 Research Methods (Quantitative & Qualitative) from Autumn 2021

Code	Name
401407	Pathophysiology 1

Note: Unit 401407 Pathophysiology replaces 400138 Pathophysiology from Autumn 2020.

Code	Name
400933	Podiatry Pre-Clinical

Code	Name
401180	Musculoskeletal Disorders and Imaging

Code	Name
300754	Neuroanatomy

Code	Name
400981	Clinical Pharmacology

Code	Name
400929	Podiatric Practice 1

Code	Name
401184	The High Risk Foot

Code	Name
401182	Pharmacology for Podiatrists

Code	Name
400866	Culture, Diversity and Health

Code	Name
400930	Podiatric Practice 2

Code	Name
401183	Podiatric Surgery

Code	Name
101614	Psychology and Health

Code	Name
401384	Evidence in Professional Reasoning

Note: Unit 401384 Evidence in Professional Reasoning replaces 400865 Evidence-based Practice from Autumn 2021

At this point, students may exit with the Bachelor of Health Science (no specialisation)

Code	Name
401115	Podiatric Paediatrics and Sports Medicine

Code	Name
401116	Dermatology and Gerontology

Code	Name
401114	Podiatric Practice 3

And one elective

Code	Name
401119	Podiatric Professional Practice Studies

Code	Name
401117	Podiatric Clinical Block

Code	Name
401118	Podiatric Practice 4

Students will exit with Bachelor of Podiatric Medicine

Institution