Graduating Physiotherapy Students’ Conceptions of their own Competence

Abstract

A competency-oriented approach has recently emerged in higher education and thus far, not much attention has been paid to how "competence" itself is understood in education. The purpose of this study was to examine how graduating physiotherapy students perceive their competence at the end of their studies. The data comprised interviews with 33 graduating physiotherapy students. The data were analysed with the phenomenographic approach. The findings indicated that graduating students had different and wide-ranging conceptions of what competence in physiotherapy entails and what their own competence covers. The descriptive categoriesmastering core skills, understanding the theoretical basis of physiotherapy, having a holistic view of physiotherapy, engaging in and developing multiprofessional collaboration -varied hierarchically on the basis of seven themes. From a pedagogical point of view, four critical aspects were identified: focus of reflection, professional agency, cultural awareness and communication.

From passenger to citizen—portraits of learning to be a physiotherapist

“…(2014) and the expansion of understanding that comes with embracing new ways of learning, seeing the profession differently and more holistically and adopting a professional mindset; similar transitions are reflected across the four portraits. There are also differences between the portraits and existing literature that explores the structural factors impacting achievement and sense of belonging (Hamshire & Wibberley, 2014), ways of thinking and practising in the form of skills or competencies (Kurunsaari et al., 2018; Lindquist et al., 2006b; Richardson et al., 2002). The differences across this body of work and the study presented here are perhaps indicative of the different understandings and inherent complexity of professional formation.…”

“…The body of work that focuses on students' overall educational experiences within physiotherapy is small and diverse. Previous studies have provided insights on how physiotherapy students' university learning experiences impact their engagement with their study (Hamshire & Wibberley, 2014 ), new students' expectations of being a physiotherapist (Richardson et al., 2002 ), the focus of physiotherapy students' learning experiences (Lindquist et al., 2006a ; Lindquist et al., 2010 ), professional identity (Lindquist et al., 2006b ) and development pathways (Korpi et al., 2014 ; Kurunsaari et al., 2018 , 2021 ).…”

Instructional Approaches: Anatomy Education of Physical Therapists

“…Research may be focused too much on instructional methods rather than other factors related to student learning, theory of practice, and knowledge translation. As previously discussed, anatomy education has the advantage of also enhancing professional behaviors in students, yet, current research shows graduating physical therapy students have vastly different perceptions of their professional competencies (Gunderman and Wilson, 2005;Escobar-Poni and Poni, 2006;Lachman and Pawlina, 2006;Kurunsaari et al, 2018). Pawlina and Drake (2017) present the need for continued quality anatomy education for the practicing professional to bridge gaps and expand knowledge.…”

Physical Therapists' Perceptions of Preparedness to Engage in Culturally Competent Practice Upon Graduation: A Qualitative Research Study

“…Focused experiential learning has been effective in improving confidence and preparedness to work with different social groups or cultures. 60-62 Adding interactions or experiences with patients from multiple communities or backgrounds may produce a more culturally competent PT and contribute to equitable health care standards for an increasingly diverse patient population and improve patient outcomes. 62,63…”