Meet one of our newest members, Professor Heather Malcolm

Heather is a Sports Physiotherapist with over 30 years clinical experience, and is now the Course Coordinator of Physiotherapy at Charles Darwin University (CDU). Heather completed in 1985 a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physio) in SA and a Master of Sports Physio in Sydney in 2000. She moved to Darwin, NT in the early 1990’s where her experience included providing physiotherapy services to the locally based defence forces, owning a small private practice and being the Senior Sport Physiotherapist at a large Sports Medicine clinic. Her teaching experience includes some casual tutoring, teaching for SMA Level 1 and 2 sports trainer courses and in NTG Transition to Remote Practice training. As one of the Australian Physiotherapy Council’s longest-standing Accreditation Panel Assessors, Heather brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and a growth mindset as she makes her contribution to the Council’s work of accrediting university physiotherapy programs.

Physiotherapy at CDU is a new course so Heather is working on developing curriculum, engagement with clinical placement sites and looking at possibilities for use of simulation and interprofessional education in the Allied Health suite of courses at CDU. Heather spent 10 years working in the NT Health, initially in  clinical quality and patient safety before taking on the Chief Alllied Health Officer role for 4 years. As an advocate and clinical champion for telehealth, and with a growing interest in digital health transformation, Heather was the Program Sponsor for the NT Health Virtual Care Strategy between 2020 to 2022.

“I have joined ANZAHPE on the encouragement of a highly respected physiotherapy colleague who is a very experienced tertiary educator. I am looking forward to the development opportunities and support being as member provides. “