Understanding Physiotherapy Students’ Perceived Preparedness To Work With People Living With Dementia: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundDementia is a major cause of disability, and physiotherapists play a vital role in the care of people with this condition. Entry‐to‐professional practice physiotherapy students have been found to be ‘somewhat confident’ in working with this population, however comprehensive data about their practice experiences, their preparedness to care for people living with dementia and any educational gaps have not been previously reported. The aims of this study were to 1) determine physiotherapy students’ experiences in caring for people who have dementia, 2) determine how prepared students were to work with people who have dementia upon graduation and 3) determine if there any areas where students require further education regarding dementia, and how this would be provided.MethodsThis was a qualitative study using an interpretive description approach. Participants were 17 physiotherapy students from entry‐to‐professional practice education programs in three universities in Victoria, Australia, in their final year of study, having completed at least 15 weeks of clinical placements. Students participated in semi‐structured interviews. Thematic analysis was undertaken, with themes/subthemes derived and a qualitative thematic framework generated.ResultsThe overarching theme was that students’ experience of providing care for people with dementia was overwhelming. The three sub‐themes were: 1) students experience significant challenges when working with people with dementia, 2) students experience a range of emotions when working with people with dementia, and 3) the quality of dementia learning experiences during entry‐to‐professional practice training was perceived by students as mostly inadequate. Students described the importance of supervisors during clinical placements, and suggested incorporating ‘real‐life’ scenario classroom training to assist them to learn to manage the challenging symptoms of dementia.Discussion/ConclusionPhysiotherapy students believe that entry‐to‐practice dementia education is currently insufficient. These findings have important implications for the future planning and delivery of physiotherapy dementia education.