About
The Faculty of Health Sciences is the eighth and the newest faculty at Palacký University in Olomouc. It was established in 2008 and focuses on the education of non-medical professionals in healthcare whose specifications comply with the Act No. 96/2004 Coll. The Faculty of Health Sciences was separated from the Palacký University Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, which had provided non-medical healthcare programmes until then. The idea for an independent faculty came from differences in the profiles and competencies of the graduates and from the different research areas of the study programmes.
The education of non-medical professionals was launched even before the political changes of 1989. The study programmes such as Nursing Pedagogy and Teaching at Secondary Schools for Nurses offered at the Faculty of Education at Palacký University were those that opened up the development of university education for non-medical healthcare professionals. The 1990s brought social changes, the acceptance of the Bologna Declaration and innovation in requirements for healthcare professionals. Study programmes such as General Nursing, Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Radiology Assistant and many others have undergone a transformation in the Czech Republic. They have changed from a secondary school type education into bachelor programmes at universities. Their individual advancement has been deepened worldwide and their existence within medical faculties less common today. It has been proven to be more effective in development priorities, education and research of non-medical specialties when separated from the medical professions
The Faculty of Health Sciences offers eight specialties in four study programmes and a doctoral Nursing programme. Cooperation with the Faculty of Science has been in place in the bachelor degree programme of Optometry for several years and in the new programme of Orthoptics since the 2008/2009 academic year. The Faculty of Health Sciences has also been involved in the master degree programme of Teaching of Specialized Subjects at secondary nursing schools since 2008/2009.
