Challenges of being a scholarly clinician as perceived by stroke rehabilitation professionals

Abstract

Purpose: Stroke rehabilitation clinicians are responsible for offering quality services through evidence-based practices. How is this role fulfilled on a daily basis? Objectives: (1) To explore the perceptions, experiences, and attitudes of rehabilitation professionals regarding their scholar role; (2) To identify factors that facilitate or hinder this role in their practices. Method: Qualitative design of a phenomenological orientation. Face-to-face interviews conducted with professionals with at least 1 year experience in stroke rehabilitation using a pre-tested interview guide. Transcripts were coded using QDA-Miner software. Results: Mean age of the participants was 40.7 years ± 11.2. Participants were mostly women (n = 9/11). The role of scholar emerged as not having great value. Main themes (5) emerging from the analysis are emphasis on tacit knowledge; experience and clinical intuition leading to self-confidence and comfort in clinical practice; dissatisfaction with the lack of knowledge sharing among clinicians; importance of diversifying clinical tasks; and the underdevelopment of reflective practice. Four factors identified as influencing the role of scholar: motivation, critical incident as a main trigger of reflective practice, interns facilitating reflective practice, and lack of time. Conclusion: From these results emerged questions about measures to encourage the scholar role and facilitate reflective practice in stroke rehabilitation.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Reflective practice has to be encouraged in professional rehabilitation of stroke.

• Managers’ involvement is crucial to promote and support the role of scholar among professionals in stroke rehabilitation.

• The updated knowledge and networking from reading scientific paper, participation in trainings and conferences should be systematically disseminated.

• CanMEDS
• evidence-based practice
• practice
• scholar role
• stroke

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to their colleague Philippe Karazivan for co-codifying an entire interview, providing advice on qualitative analysis, and sharing his expertise. The authors would also like to thank the participants of the study.