ResearchRural clinical training is not a new concept, especially for medical doctors, and is a global phenomenon. In South Africa (SA), the earliest account of medical rural training was the Pholela Health Centre, started in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in the 1940s.[1] Later, in 1992, KZN tertiary educators pioneered multidisciplinary, rural clinical education for various allied health sciences (AHS) disciplines [2] along with medical and nursing education. SA has a history of an urban service bias, with 12% of SA's medical practitioners, 19% of nurses [3] and an unrecorded, but possibly small percentage of AHS practitioners being rural based.[4] The advent of compulsory community service inspired the development of Stellenbosch University's uKwanda Rural Clinical School, which began training medical doctors in 2011.[5] Training broadened from 2012 onwards to include final-year learners from AHS and included Human Nutrition (HN), Physiotherapy (PT), Speech-Language Therapy (SLT) and Occupational Therapy (OT). Rotations include clinical blocks and/or 1-year placements for students of some of the disciplines at rural sites and for others at urban sites. On average, 44 of 100 Stellenbosch University AHS students experienced the uKwanda Rural Clinical School training platform during their final year of training. We hope to increase the number in future. As this is a relatively new learning site, we are curious about what, or more specifically how, our learners experience practice changes, i.e. from urbanbased, individualised care and/or traditional medi cal training sites to the more rural-based clinical training.In this study, the Curriculum of Practice (Fig. 1), [6] a conceptual framework, was used to situate learners' practice experiences, the components of which include (i) clinical practices (and associated resources); (ii) professional educational curricular policies; and (iii) practice policies.Practice is promoted as integrally connected to theory, policy and factors such as clinical resources -and not as abstract, decontextualised things that we do. [7] Clinical practice activities are understood relative to what learners are taught in their professional curricula. For example, the manner in which a child with cerebral palsy eats, may, for an occupational therapist, mean focusing on the mealtime as an activity of daily living. However, a speech therapist will assess 'feeding/swallowing abilities' . They are also guided by best practice local and/or national or international guidelines from organisations such as the World Health Organization. Hence, policy interacts with practice.Clinical practice also comprises available resources. What happens when we have no standardised tests for isiXhosa speakers? Or, how does one begin Background. Rural clinical training is not widely established or documented for allied health sciences (AHS) learners. This article focuses on the experiences of AHS learners from Stellenbosch University's uKwanda Rural Clinical School. Objective. To explore learners' practices with regard to ru...

Developing occupational therapists who are prepared to deliver effective practice is a priority because of the additional challenges our new graduates face in delivering health care in a broad range of occupational therapy practice contexts. Nevertheless, one survey of new graduates in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand found less than one in five new graduates felt very well-prepared for practice (Gray et al., 2012). Subsequent research of the competency of New Zealand new graduate therapists also identified weaknesses in graduates' preparedness for practice (Nayar, Gray and Blijlevens, 2013). Being well-prepared for practice is even more critical in low-and middle-income (LMIC) countries, where new graduates may work in remote rural areas with little supervision.

The education of health professionals needs to respond to new health challenges, health science developments and health needs of society to strengthen the health system. Frenk et al. [1] reported the findings of the Lancet's Global Independent Commission into the Education of Health Professionals for the 21st century, and stated that the education of health professionals has not kept pace with the major challenges of providing health security to all. Some of the problems mentioned by the Commission include: poor teamwork; narrow technical focus without broader contextual understanding; mismatch of competencies with regard to patient and population needs; episodic encounters rather than continuous care; and predominant hospital orientation at the expense of primary care. The Commission believes that academic institutions are liable for these problems, as curricula are fragmented, outdated and static. [1] The training of healthcare professionals is indeed a challenge and needs to ensure that entry-level professionals are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to provide the highest standard of care for their clients. In South Africa (SA), the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) promotes the health of all South Africans 'by determining standards of professional education and training and setting and maintaining the highest standards of professional and ethical behaviour for its registered healthcare professionals' . [2] This is achieved by establishing and monitoring the standards of professional education and training of the different healthcare professionals and setting standards for professional and ethical conduct of qualified professionals registered with the HPCSA. The different professional bodies each have guidelines that determine the content of the different courses, but the core ethical values and standards for good practice are generic and apply to all healthcare professionals. The core ethical values and standards for good practice are respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, human rights, autonomy, integrity, truthfulness, confidentiality, compassion, tolerance and justice. [3] Training for the healthcare professions has to include a comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of all South Africans, including skills to provide health promotion, health prevention, and curative and rehabilitation services. Healthcare professionals also need to be trained in social and technical skills to work together as a team. [4] Since 1993, the healthcare system in SA has been expanded, transformed and revitalised, and parallel to this there have been major growth and developments in health science, professional education and training. [5] Concurrently, an increased understanding of the value and need to include inter-professional education (IPE) in the training of healthcare students has developed. [1,6] IPE is defined as: 'When two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care' . [7] IPE can be utilised to prepare...