University of Applied Health Sciences

Today’s University of Applied Health Sciences was established in Zagreb in 1966 by the decision of the Association of Croatian Health Institutions under the name of the Advanced School of Nursing and Health Technicians due to the need for a higher level of education of previously secondary-school educated health professionals. At that time, it was the only higher education institution in Croatia that carried out education of hospital and visiting nurses, radiologic technologists, environmental health and laboratory technicians at what was then higher education level. In 1968, the education of students at the study program of Physiotherapy began, and that of occupational therapists began in 1986. From its establishment until 1998, the duration of the study programmes for all courses was two years or four semesters, with the curricula directed towards the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, and with the emphasis on mastering practical skills needed for everyday work in health care practice. Practical training took place at teaching sites of collaborative health care institutions and other types of institutions – health centres, general and specialised hospitals, clinical hospitals, retirement homes, and the like. In addition to the courses in Zagreb, study programs in nursing were also organised on a permanent basis in Split, and occasionally in Osijek and Požega, and courses for radiologic technologists were offered in Split and Varaždin. For several years a study in physiotherapy was organized in Igalu (Montenegro). It started in 1976 as a regional study of the Advanced School of Nursing and Health Technicians, and it later became the Faculty of Applied Physiotherapy in Igalu. The study for all study programs was organised as full-time and part-time study.