Rate My Professor Vicki Tillott

Vicki Tillott serves as a Lecturer (Teaching Scholar) in Occupational Therapy within the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University, located at the Coffs Harbour campus. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy (BAppSc(OT)) from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). As a registered occupational therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience, her area of specialty is workplace rehabilitation. In her academic role, she contributes to occupational therapy education and is recognized as part of the SCU Fellowship Community for teaching and learning excellence. Vicki is currently a PhD candidate through the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, where her research explores First Nations peoples' experiences and understandings of cultural safety, as well as whether occupational therapy students can practice in a culturally safe manner with First Nations peoples before graduating. She has been instrumental in developing partnerships between the university and the local First Nations community.

Her scholarly output includes several key publications focused on cultural safety and First Nations health integration in health professional curricula. Notable works are 'Cultural safety and First Nations health content within tertiary occupational therapy programs: A scoping review' (2025, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, co-authored with Stuart Barlo, Michelle Donelly, Beth Mozolic-Staunton, Tarunna Sebastian, and Kirsten Atkinson), which examines First Nations health content in occupational therapy education; 'Cultural Safety: A First Nations Perspective' (2026, Nursing Inquiry, co-authored with Tarunna Sebastian, Michelle Donelly, Stuart Barlo, and Beth Mozolic-Staunton); and 'Simulation Placement: Reflections on a Novel Work Integrated Learning Unit (Practice Simulation)' (2026, SSRN Southern Cross University Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Research Series Paper No. 46, co-authored with Lisa Couzens and Maggie Scorey). Vicki Tillott has presented her research at conferences, including a presentation on the Indigenous health major at OTAUS2023 alongside Stuart Barlo. Her contributions advance culturally safe practices in occupational therapy and allied health education for First Nations peoples.