A Survey of Essential Functions and Reasonable Accommodations in Physical Therapist Education Programs

Rangel, Annie; Wittry, Amanda; Boucher, Brenda; Sanders, Barbara

doi:10.1097/00001416-200101000-00004

Cited by 6 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This range of data sources has not been previously used in published physiotherapy studies. As expert opinion was the solely used to establish physiotherapy student requirements in the USA and the UK [15,24-26,35], respondent bias was likely to have influence previous results. Respondent bias was reduced in this study by using of a range of accepted data sources and by oversight by an independent University inherent requirement reference group [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the use of the IRONE framework meant that the inherency was explicitly articulated, through rich description of the inherency plus exemplars, and characteristics for reasonable adjustments provided [22]. This is in contrast to other literature in this area, which merely listed essential functions or physiotherapy student skills [15,25,26,35]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differences exist between the inherent requirements to study physiotherapy at UWS and the essential skills required by US and UK physiotherapy students [15,26] (Table 4). For example, in the USA and the UK, legal requirements of physiotherapy study were not identified as essential.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sixty-two percent of participants reported that they required adjustment in academic and or practice placement settings. Rangel et al [15] found that 77% of 112 US physiotherapy schools educated students with learning disabilities. Fifty-one percent of these schools reported that some students had back injuries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is at odds with inclusive education, which makes learning accessible irrespective of impairment or disability [5]. The international literature also offers little guidance, as there is a lack of agreement between the fundamental skills required as a physiotherapy student in the USA [15,24,25] and the UK [26] (Figure 1). Moreover, the scope of physiotherapy practice, the healthcare funding and systems, and cultural factors differ between Australia and other developed countries, such as the USA and the UK [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Development of physiotherapy inherent requirement statements – an Australian experience

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities promotes equal rights of people with a disability in all aspects of their life including their education. In Australia, Disability Discrimination legislation underpins this Convention. It mandates that higher education providers must demonstrate that no discrimination has occurred and all reasonable accommodations have been considered and implemented, to facilitate access and inclusion for a student with a disability. The first step to meeting legislative requirements is to provide students with information on the inherent requirements of a course. This paper describes the steps which were taken to develop inherent requirement statements for a 4-year entry-level physiotherapy program at one Australian university.Case presentationInherent requirement statements were developed using an existing framework, which was endorsed and mandated by the University. Items which described inherencies were extracted from Australian physiotherapy professional standards and statutory regulatory requirements, and units contained in the physiotherapy program. Data were integrated into the 8 prescribed domains: ethical behaviour, behavioural stability, legal, communication, cognition, sensory abilities, strength and mobility, and sustainable performance. Statements for each domain were developed using a 5-level framework (introductory statement, description of the inherent requirement, justification for inherency, characteristics of reasonable adjustments and exemplars) and reviewed by a University Review Panel. Refinement of statements continued until no further changes were required. Fifteen physiotherapy inherent requirement statements were developed. The eight domains identified in the existing framework, developed for Nursing, were relevant to the study of physiotherapy.ConclusionsThe inherent requirement statements developed in this study provide a transparent, defensible position on the current requirements of physiotherapy study at one Australian university. These statements are transferable to other physiotherapy programs in Australia due to standardised physiotherapy accreditation requirements. The model and framework could be applied to other health professional courses and used to explore the physiotherapy inherent requirements from an international perspective.

show abstract