Supporting the transition of disabled students from university to practice placement

Abstract

A modified action research project was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a pre-placement procedure in facilitating eight disabled physiotherapy students’ transitions from university to practice. Feedback was gathered from the students, practice educators, visiting and academic tutors via questionnaire. Thematic analysis identified four main themes: ‘Procedure’; ‘Student in Control’; ‘Communication’; and ‘Disclosure’. The procedure was generally effective in supporting these students. Recommendations were made for: the need for ownership of the procedure from all stakeholders; the development of more effective communication systems; and the need for appropriate disability awareness training for all academic and practice-based staff.

Keywords:

• university
• disabled students
• education
• reasonable adjustments
• disclosure
• health professional

View correction statement:

Erratum

Notes

This article was originally published with errors. This version has been corrected. Please see Erratum (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.844534)