An innovative strategy to expand clinical education: a report on the students`view

Abstract

Clinical education is an integral part of undergraduate physiotherapy training. The minimum hours of clinical training required differ from country to country. As a result of a magnitude of reasons, academic institutions find it increasingly difficult to place their students at appropriate clinical sites. Consequently, the physiotherapy department at Stellenbosch University has embarked on an innovative approach to substitute this shortness of placements for 3rdyear physiotherapy students in 2003. Once all the students had rotated through this new cluster of learning opportunities, the students evaluated this approach. A self-developed questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions was used for this survey. The response rate was 83%. The vast majority of students found the structure of this new block enjoyable and meaningful. It will therefore be continued in the future and evaluated on a regular basis.

Physiotherapy students’ and clinical teachers’ perceptions of clinical learning opportunities: A case study

“…Both Babyar et al (2003) and Lekkas et al (2007) highlight this situation, particularly the lack of information on the effectiveness of various teaching methods used during physiotherapy clinical education. A review of the literature on physiotherapy clinical education made it evident that most research focussed on models of clinical education (Ladyshewsky 1993;Baldry Currens & Bithell 2003;Moore et al 2003;Stiller et al 2004;Frieg & Lochner 2005) and the role of the clinical teacher during clinical education (Harris & Naylor 1992;Onuoha 1994;Cross 1995;Mbambo 1999;Frieg & Rhoda 2006;Laitinen-Vaananen et al 2007). There is less focus on teaching and learning opportunities (Onuoha 1994;Walker & Openshaw 1994;Cross 1998;Babyar et al 2003).…”