CQUni knows Daniel

Daniel O’Connor
Skills For Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS), Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)

I officially started my degree in 2015 after applying in 2014 and not getting in. I was accepted in 2015 after completing the Steps Program through distance education in Victoria, which helped me gain direct entry into the course. I moved from Victoria to Bundaberg to do the course because it’s one of the best physio courses in Australia.

As a mature-aged student the Steps Program was a big help for me. I wasn’t sure how I’d cope after not studying for about six years, so it was a good refresher and warm up to starting the physio course.

I had been working as a massage therapist for about five years and really enjoyed helping people, but found my skills were lacking and physio seemed like a nice natural progression in continuing to help people in the same sort of area. With massage therapy I found I didn’t know a whole lot about things that I could do to help further and what I was allowed to do was very limited. As a physio there are a whole lot more avenues to go down career-wise. I didn’t want to be 50 years old and still doing massage therapy, but I see myself being a physio well into the future, equipped with a much broader tool belt to help people.  Having people trust you to help them get better and get back to their previous level of function is very rewarding for me, and it’s great to see them achieve their goals.

I chose CQUniversity firstly through word-of-mouth. A friend of mine had just graduated from physiotherapy through the Uni and I really liked the idea of the small class sizes and one-on-one learning. You get to know your lecturers and they all know you by name, you really develop a friendship with them and gain great networking opportunities. We have 12 people in our cohort, as opposed to bigger unis where the huge class sizes turn you into just a number. But probably one of the main reasons I chose to study the course at CQUniversity was that Anthony Schneiders, a well-renowned physiotherapist, influenced the design of the course. He has had a huge academic influence on the world of Physiotherapy, so having someone like him directing the degree was very much one of the reasons I chose CQUniversity.

Coming from a regional background in Victoria I didn’t want to move to a city, and Bundaberg really appealed to me as it has a very regional feel to it so I transitioned well – except for the heat and humidity!

After graduation I look forward to being able to apply my skills to real patients, and eventually open my own private practice. CQUniversity has equipped me to achieve my goals, you’re taught by people with 20 to 30 years’ clinical experience who are able to teach you the little bits and bobs that you can’t get out of a textbook, and most other unis don’t offer that.