Rate My Professor Melanie Farlie

Dr. Melanie Farlie is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy within Monash University's Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. A clinician-researcher with over 24 years of experience spanning clinical practice, leadership, and academia focused on orthogeriatric rehabilitation, she holds qualifications of BPhysio, PGCPhysio, GCHPE, and PhD, completed in 2017 on developing a scale to measure balance exercise intensity at Monash University. She is a titled APA Research Physiotherapist and holds fellowships as FHEA and FANZAHPE. Her clinical career includes providing physiotherapy services in acute, subacute, community, and residential care settings, primarily in gerontology. As part of teaching teams for key gerontology courses, she shapes healthcare professionals' education.

In her current roles, Dr. Farlie is a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow in the Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Professions Education, and Education Lead for the Monash Musculoskeletal Research Unit. She pioneered the Balance Intensity Scale, the world's first objective measure of balance exercise intensity, leading its validation and clinical implementation research, including international collaborations on health professionals' decision-making and neurophysiological markers. With 69 publications, notable works include 'Narrative inquiry for beginners: A practical guide for health professions education researchers' (2026, Anatomical Sciences Education), 'Supporting doctors' professional identity development through specialist training' (2026), and contributions to the CHILD-SHOE Reporting Checklist (2025, Journal of Foot and Ankle Research). She has received the ANZFPS Conference Best Presentation Award (Policy and Practice, 2023) and SPAHC Research Impact Award (ECR Staff, 2022). Dr. Farlie serves as Education Officer on the IPTOP Board, Associate Editor for the Journal of Physical Therapy Education, and has contributed to ethics committees and conference programming.