Exploring clinical learning experiences of novice physiotherapy students in a hospital setting

ABSTRACT

Background

Exposure to clinical practice experiences ensures undergraduate physiotherapy students meet the clinical competencies required to graduate as autonomous practitioners. Much of the research literature has investigated the clinical experiences of medical students. While recent studies have explored physiotherapy students’ experiences with simulation, few have explored their perspectives of a clinical placement in a hospital setting at the early learning stage of a four-year programme.

Objective

To explore the perspectives of novice undergraduate physiotherapy students on a clinical placement in a real hospital setting.

Methods

Fifteen Year 3 undergraduate physiotherapy students participated in semi-structured interviews midway through a three-week tertiary care clinical placement. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Three main themes emerged: 1) student attributes affecting placement experience; 2) impact of the educator on student experience; and 3) effects of the clinical environment on student experiences.

Conclusion

The real clinical environment promotes a rich learning experience for students, while the clinical educator is pivotal to guiding student learning through provision of resources and feedback. Provision of early orientation and timely clarification of expectations is important to alleviate anxiety and allow students to prepare themselves.

KEYWORDS:

• Clinical education
• clinical placement
• physiotherapy
• undergraduate student

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

B Practice settings and project participation

B1 Can you briefly describe your role in the tertiary care placement?

B2 Can you briefly describe the types of patients you are working within the tertiary care placement?

B3 On a scale of 1-5, 1 being did not enjoy at all and 5 being a very enjoyable placement to what extent are you enjoying having a tertiary care clinical placement?

B4 Can you briefly describe what you like most about the placement?

B5 Can you briefly describe what you like least about the placement?

B6 Can you describe your level of anxiety at the beginning of the placement and how it is now?

B7 What things were put in place during the preparation for and introduction to the placement to change your level of anxiety?

B8 What things could have been put in place to change your level of anxiety?

C Preparation for the placement

C1 How well prepared were you for the placement?

C2 What did you do to prepare for the placement?

C3 On reflection what else could you have done to prepare for the placement?

C4 On reflection what else could the clinical educator have done to prepare you for the placement?

C5 How relevant were the preclinical readings?

C6 Can you briefly describe what other pre-clinical preparation you were involved in?

C7 On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being a very helpful to what extent was this other pre-clinical preparation you were involved in helpful?

C8 Any other comments on preparation?

D Learning on the placement

D1 On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not at all and 5 being a great deal to what extent did you contribute to the group learning sessions/discussions in preparation for the placement?

D2 What were the benefits of the group learning sessions on the placement?

D3 To what extent do you think the requirements for the placement were in your knowledge zone at the beginning of the placement?

D4 To what extent do you think the requirements for the placement are in your knowledge zone at this point in the placement?

D5 How well prepared were you for understanding and using terminology required for the placement?

D6 What are the key factors that enable you to improve?

D7 How well prepared were you for demonstrating the basic skills required for the placement?

D8 Can you briefly describe in what ways the basic skills you required for the placement have improved?

D9 What aspects of learning on the placement do you like best?

D10 What aspects of learning on the placement do you like least?

D11 How could learning on the placement be improved?

E Other

E1 Do you have any other comments you would like to share that relate to preparation for and the introduction to the placement?

Thank you, that is the end of the interview.

Interview Finish Time: ________________

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.