Practical work in physiotherapy students’ professional development

Abstract

Learning practical work through cooperation between school and working life is a part of physiotherapy higher education. Students learn practical work by integration of theoretical, practical, tacit and situational knowledge in a socialization process. Workplace practices and habits direct students' learning. This study answers the question: What kind of conceptions of learning practical work do physiotherapy students have? Longitudinal data written by 21 voluntary students (mean age 25 years) was collected during 3.5 years. Thematic analysis was used in analysing the data. Learning practical work proceeds in 5 phases. 1) The basis of the practical work, human movement and action and therapeutic tools, is learned at school. 2) Meaning of the profession and practical work takes shape in an interaction with clients and observing how professionals work at real workplaces. 3) The wholeness of the practical work takes shape by gradually participating in the work processes. 4) Critical reflection of the work processes-thinking, construction, evaluation and reasoning-develops and 5)The conception of the practical work widens. The study brings new information about learning practical work for developing health care education and its curricula. The role of the workplaces is huge in learning tacit knowledge of the profession.

Entrenamiento de observación de acciones e imaginería motora como herramientas de innovación educativa para entrenar habilidades en los alumnos de fisioterapia

“…En términos generales las habilidades clínicas en fisioterapia se pueden englobar en tres dimensiones: a) las habilidades para la realización de la evaluación del paciente; b) habilidades técnicas para los procedimientos prácticos; y c) habilidades de comunicación y gestión (Michels et al, 2012). Los estudiantes de fisioterapia adquieren las habilidades prácticas a través de la integración de conocimientos teóricos, prácticos (Bugaj & Nikendei, 2016;Korpi et al, 2017), tácitos y situacionales en un proceso de socialización (Korpi et al, 2017). Según los resultados de un comité de expertos, la adquisición de habilidades clínicas incluye tres componentes: el aprendizaje de cómo realizar determinados movimientos (conocimiento procedimental), la razón del porque debería realizarse un procedimiento (conocimiento científico básico subyacente) y el significado de los posibles hallazgos (razonamiento clínico) (Michels et al, 2012).…”

An Exploration of Perceived Barriers to Evidence-Based Practice among Physiotherapy Students during Clinical Placement—A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

“…Respondents often do not take the time to read the questions fully and may rush through Likert scales, ticking the boxes to finish quickly [35]. Self-reporting can also introduce social desirability bias where answers reflect an anticipated social norm, as the participants presume about their knowledge which, they do not possess [36]. Authors have recognized and demonstrated the difference between students' perceptions or feelings about their own knowledge and skills and their actual knowledge and skills as measured, for example, by tests or assessments administered by the institution [35] [37] [38].…”

Problem-Based Learning in Professional Studies from the Physiotherapy Students’ Perspective

“…Ninety-two students from four health science disciplines including medicine, physiotherapy, nursing, and diagnostic imaging participated in the study. At the end of the module, an evaluation was undertaken using a questionnaire with the ways in which the profession operates, values, and attitudes are largely learned in real working life situations (Korpi, Peltokallio, & Piirainen, 2017). In practical working life, physiotherapists are constantly solving practical tasks regarding what kind of therapy methods would be beneficial for the clients, what kind of aid clients would benefit from, and how to cooperate in multidisciplinary teams.…”

“…Clinical practices are a major part of physiotherapy education, and students' goal during their education is to learn practical physiotherapy work skills (Korpi et al, 2017;Kurunsaari, Tynjälä, & Piirainen, 2018). Gunn, Hunter, and Haas (2012) studied how physiotherapy students applied the skills gained through PBL to practice from the perspective of placement supervisors.…”