Interdisciplinary Communication Skills Research Articles

A Flipped Classroom Pilot in Neonatal Mechanical Ventilation.

Pediatric residents frequently manage critically ill neonates but have limited systematic training in mechanical ventilation (MV). Competing demands, varying learner levels, and topic complexity contribute to inconsistent education. A blended learning approach may be ideally suited to achieve meaningful learning but has not been described for this topic and learner. To design, implement, and evaluate a flipped classroom for pediatric residents in neonatal MV. We used Kern's six-step framework for curricular development to create a flipped classroom curriculum in neonatal MV. Individual prework included interaction with six prerecorded animated whiteboard videos, while in-person learning occurred in small groups at the bedside of a ventilated infant. A mixed-methods evaluation included surveys, quantitative knowledge test scores (before, immediately after, and six months after course completion), and qualitative analysis of participant focus groups. Twenty-six learners participated in the curriculum. Mean knowledge test scores rose and were sustained after course completion (51% baseline, 82% immediate posttest, 90% retention; P < 0.001). Learners identified various design elements, technology affordances, and instructor factors as meaningful, and they identified unexpected impacts of the curriculum beyond knowledge acquisition, including effects on professional identities, interdisciplinary communication skills, and contribution to the culture of safety. This curriculum aligned with resident roles, was meaningful to learners, and led to long-term increases in knowledge scores and access to quality education; flipped classroom design using meaningful learning theory and leveraging animated whiteboard technology may be a useful strategy for other highly complex topics in graduate medical education.

Advanced Practitioners as Agents of Change: Leveraging Quality Improvement to Improve Practice

Scientific innovation in hematology and oncology is constant and increasingly complex, requiring individual clinicians and institutions to effectively integrate standards of care across the diverse hematology and oncology landscape into practice. Effective integration of evolving diagnostics, risk models, new therapeutics and novel treatment strategies, and practice regulation requirements requires ongoing practice improvement efforts and an infrastructure to implement change. Advanced practitioners (APs) are poised to serve as agents of change based on their clinical presence, clinical expertise, familiarity with critical members of the interdisciplinary team, communication skills, and ability to envision and actualize optimized workflows. Through practice analysis, workflow optimization, role delineation, and effective utilization and tailoring of documentation in the electronic health record, APs can lead implementation strategies to improve patient outcomes. In this article, we will review the essential role APs play as agents of change to implement best practice models using quality improvement (QI) processes. The principles of QI as a strategy for practice improvement, including strategies and tools for successful practice analysis, workflow optimization, outcome analysis, implementation, and sustainability of change, will be reviewed. Proposed elements of a QI and practice integration toolkit for APs and a series of QI exemplars, including an Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO)-led QI initiative and AP-led QI initiatives, will be summarized.

Development and implementation of a student tumor board as a teaching format for medical students.

Tumor boards serve as established platforms for interdisciplinary expert discussions and therapeutic recommendations tailored to individual patient characteristics. Despite their significance, medical students often lack exposure to such interdisciplinary discussions as tumor boards are currently not integrated into medical curricula. To address this, we aimed to enhance future physicians' interdisciplinary communication skills and subject-specific knowledge by introducing an interactive series of five linked tumor board seminars within the domain of neuro-oncology. We developed a neuro-oncological student tumor board using a flipped-classroom format. The primary objectives of this case-centered approach included fostering an understanding of the tumor board process, active participation in multidisciplinary case discussions, honing appropriate communication strategies, and creating personalized therapy plans that consider inputs from all relevant disciplines, individual patient factors, and ethical considerations. To gauge the effectiveness of the seminar series, we administered structured pre- and post-course questionnaires. Fourteen medical students in third to fifth year participated in the pilot series. Despite its organizational complexity, the interdisciplinary seminars were feasible. Students demonstrated significant growth in competence, aligned with predefined learning objectives. Notably, they appreciated the supportive learning environment and interactive teaching format, which kindled their interest in interdisciplinary oncology. Active participation in a student tumor board can empower students to tackle the diverse challenges of caring for cancer patients within an interdisciplinary team during the early stages of their careers. The student tumor board represents an innovative, learner-centered approach to teach interdisciplinary cancer treatment, communication strategies, and ethical aspects of medical practice.

Learning the Language of Medical Device Innovation: A Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Elective for Medical Students.

Physicians are playing a growing role as clinician-innovators. Academic physicians are well positioned to contribute to the medical device innovation process, yet few medical school curricula provide students opportunities to learn the conceptual framework for clinical needs finding, needs screening, concept generation and iterative prototyping, and intellectual property management. This framework supports innovation and encourages the development of valuable interdisciplinary communication skills and collaborative learning strategies. Our university offers a novel 3-year-long medical student Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Elective in Biodesign (MSLIEB) that teaches medical device innovation in 4 stages: (1) seminars and small-group work, (2) shared clinical experiences for needs finding, (3) concept generation and product development by serving as consultants for biomedical engineering capstone projects, and (4) reflection and mentorship. The MSLIEB objectives are to: create a longitudinal interdisciplinary peer mentorship relationship between undergraduate biomedical engineering students and medical students, and encourage codevelopment of professional identities in relation to medical device innovation. The MSLIEB enrolled 5 entering cohorts from 2017 to 2021 with a total of 37 medical student participants. The first full entering cohort of 12 medical students produced 8 mentored biomedical engineering capstone projects, 7 of which were based on clinical needs statements derived from earlier in the elective. Medical student participants have coauthored poster and oral presentations; contributed to projects that won WolfieTank, a university-wide competition modeled after the television show Shark Tank; and participated in the filing of provisional patents. Students reflecting on the course reported a change in their attitude towards existing medical problems, felt better-equipped to collaboratively design solutions for clinical needs, and considered a potential career path in device design. The MSLIEB will be scaled up by recruiting additional faculty, broadening clinical opportunities to include the outpatient setting, and increasing medical student access to rapid prototyping equipment.

A Heuristic-Based Simulation for an Education Process to Learn about Optimization Applications in Logistics and Transportation

In the context of the DigiLab4U international project, this paper describes a simulation-based serious game that can be used as a virtual teaching lab in higher education courses, especially in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Data Science, Management Science and Operations Research, as well as Computer Science. The learning activity focuses on understanding distribution logistics problems related to transportation optimization using different techniques. These optimization challenges include the vehicle routing problem, the arc routing problem, and the team orienteering problem. As a result of the learning process in the virtual lab, it is expected that students acquire competencies and skills related to logistics and transportation challenges as well as problem-solving. These competencies and skills can be precious for students’ future careers, since they increase students’ analytical skills, capacity to understand heuristic-based algorithms, teamwork and interdisciplinary communication skills, programming skills, and statistical abilities. A preliminary version of this training activity has already been used in MSc and PhD courses held at universities in Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Portugal.

Bridging Academic Disciplines with Interdisciplinary Project-based Learning

This article describes the implementation of an interdisciplinary design studio as a means to teach creative problem-solving through project-based learning. "Learning and Innovation Skills" has been designated as a core skill that students need to be successful in today's world, and project-based learning is one approach to helping students develop these skills. After describing the early genesis and development of the interdisciplinary design studio, the article describes results of initial research into the students’ experiences in studio courses. Students described courses as flexible and reported high levels of motivation stemming from the authenticity of the problems. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the studio, some students described deepening disciplinary skills while at the same time being exposed to cross-disciplinary skills. They believed the courses helped develop interdisciplinary collaboration, creativity, and communication skills.

COVID-19 pandemic and implications for graduate medical training.

Sir, The COVID-19 pandemic has forced sweeping, and probably durable, changes in personal habits, lifestyles, and patterns of social interaction. The education system, too, has seen many changes with the need for social distancing forcing the suspension of traditional classroom teaching and a rise in adoption of remote learning approaches such as virtual classrooms, e-learning, and m-learning. The current times, though indeed distressing, also offer a unique opportunity to revamp medical education so as to equip budding doctors with the necessary skills to respond to changing demands of the society with confidence and enthusiasm. Below, we outline a few key areas in medical training that need to be revisited: Bedside clinics in medicine, an integral part of medical training, may need to be modified so as to ensure social distancing and minimize face to face contact. In a recent guideline statement,[1] the Association of American Medical Colleges, suggested that medical schools temporarily suspend clinical rotations for trainees. This will free up some additional time which may be utilized to finish the didactic components of training till the situation normalizes. To implement this, administrators will have to consolidate and restructure the academic calendar appropriately. A less disruptive strategy would be to have virtual clinics with real or simulated patients which can even be recorded to facilitate asynchronous “anytime-anywhere” learning. Clearly, the challenge for medical educators is to design clinical immersion experiences while adhering to the requirements of the “new normal” environment, where quarantines and social distancing will be needed. There is virtually no focus on organized epidemic or disaster training and public health preparedness in the ongoing medical curriculum. This may make many doctors feel inadequate about responding to the care needs of disaster victims. An Indian study of undergraduate medical trainees[2] showed that 95% of respondents never got any training or demonstration in disaster medicine and only 16% felt confident of tackling public health emergencies. There is wide variability in disaster training methods adopted by different medical schools. One medical school described a comprehensive 8-h course comprising lectures, simulation exercises, and full-scale hospital disaster drills in which the students participate as the victims.[3] Introducing disaster medicine training early in the curriculum, having brief but mandatory rotations with the National Disaster Management Authority, and exposure to hospital administration and management to inculcate planning and leadership skills have also been mooted.[2] Inter-professional training of health-care workers and collaboration, essential for high-quality patient care, is not emphasized enough in the current medical curriculum. The current pandemic has brought this lacuna to the fore, and this has contributed to the lack of organized response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pilot studies involving medical and nursing students have described the use of experiential learning techniques to teach necessary inter-professional skills in areas such as shared decision making and problem-solving, inter-disciplinary communication skills, conflict resolution, identification, and development of individual learning needs and professional roles.[4] Administrators must value and encourage the implementation of inter-disciplinary education and practice. Since the turn of the century, this is the third pandemic that the world has seen. History will judge us by the way we utilized this opportunity to reflect, learn, and make changes to be better prepared for future. These recommendations will assist doctors in adjusting their workplaces to meet the changing demands of the society while simultaneously maintaining the quality of medical training and patient care. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Interprofessional Master of Science in Palliative Care: On Becoming a Palliative Care Community Specialist.

Background: Palliative care (PC) is a limited resource in health care systems. Many providers develop a PC interest later in their careers when it is difficult to relocate and compete for a limited number of training positions. In communities without an academic tertiary medical center, interprofessional PC community specialists are poised to deliver high-quality accessible PC to patients/families with needs beyond what can be addressed by primary care providers. Objective: An interprofessional 36-credit Master of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) provides evidence-based education to nurses, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, spiritual care providers, psychologists, counselors, and other allied health professionals. Design: The predominantly online curriculum, designed and taught by an interprofessional faculty, focuses on interdisciplinary teamwork, communication skills, and practical application of biomedical and psycho-sociocultural-spiritual-ethics content. The pedagogy is narrative based, emulating in-person clinical experiences, with patient cases progressing throughout the curriculum. We have enrolled four student cohorts. Measurements: Student self-assessments pre-mid-post program. Results: Students highly rate curriculum with demonstrated application of knowledge in case integration assignments, simulations with standardized patients, and Capstone Projects. Students' self-assessed skills on a 39-item scale increased on average to the highest level of 5 (able to perform independently and teach others). Conclusions: The inaugural student cohort reports high levels of engagement and satisfaction, including mastery and synthesis of didactic and experiential content through case integration projects. Students who worked in PC/hospice settings have advanced in their professions; others have transitioned to PC work. The MSPC has capacity to meet projected PC workforce gaps.

Developing interdisciplinary thinking in a food and nutritional security, hunger, and sustainability graduate course

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe faculty and graduate students’ motivation and learning experiences in a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary graduate course focused on the nexus of food and nutritional security, hunger, and sustainability. Design/Methodology/Approach: A one-group pre-experimental case study design was used. Faculty and students completed questionnaires, which included rating scales and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed and triangulated into key findings. Findings: Results indicated that faculty were interested and engaged in the development of the interdisciplinary course, and students were engaged in interdisciplinary learning and developed communication and education skills through experiential place-based learning. Practical Implications: Faculty developed a common understanding of their different disciplinary perspectives that helped provide a more cohesive and complementary interdisciplinary learning experience for students. Students learned about global challenges while identifying similar challenges in their local communities through the experiential learning assignments. Theoretical Implications: The design of the interdisciplinary course helped students think critically and creatively to learn complex issues. Advances in technology and active learning support a flipped classroom model to engage students. Place-based learning combined with interdisciplinary classroom experiences connected students to local real-world contexts and provided students with practical applications of problem-solving, critical thinking, and systems thinking skills. Originality/Value: Graduate students conducted an asset and needs assessment, which connected them to professionals in the community. Students think food and nutritional security, hunger, and sustainability are global challenges and seldom notice food insecurity in their local communities.

TACTivities: A Tactile Way to Learn Interdisciplinary Communication Skills

In this paper, we will discuss a type of activity that lets the mathematics classroom become a place where students can learn more than mathematical content. Specifically, students can learn interdisciplinary skills in the area of communication (both verbal and non-verbal) and debate skills that are often taught in communication or English classes. This paper discusses activities, which we call TACTivities, that can be added into any mathematics course to make the course more interdisciplinary, merging the arts and the sciences. They are best fit in mathematics courses where skills are to be learned and practiced, but modifications can be made for a variety of mathematics courses.

Learning from Wikipedia

The jobs of the future require deep understanding of the technologies changing our workplace and our society. That understanding requires experimental and experiential training and the kind of grounded academic thinking that lets big ideas soar. The programs, the faculty, and the universities that understand that challenge will lead us all. (Davidson 132)For cathy n. davidson, university education is equivalent to job preparation, which is not to say that she is talking about vocational training in the usual sense—the training, say, of medical technicians or park rangers, computer programmers or hotel personnel. On the contrary, her “new education” is designed as broadly as possible to be a replacement of the old liberal arts paradigm. The soaring cost of college education, she argues, will not decrease until public officials can be convinced that four (or even two) years of “university” training “can provide exactly the analytical and cross-cutting interdisciplinary thinking and communication skills that are most in demand in a complex workplace” (185). Goodbye, accordingly, to the traditional curriculum that has been in force for over a hundred years, goodbye to “passive, hierarchical models of teaching and learning” (103), to individual majors (and minors) like English, history, economics, or chemistry, with their lecture courses and discussion sessions, their final exams and pop quizzes, and welcome to the new world of “student-centered,” “project-based” “learning,” to the classroom “where students learn how to learn” (263).

A Collaborative Educational Intervention Integrating Biology and Physics in Radiation Oncology: A Design Research Case Study.

Instructional design focuses on solving problems in a multitude of contexts. As such, designers are investigators, gathering evidence to optimally design solutions to learning problems within the identified context. The challenge described in this case study was the need to create an educational activity to promote interaction and collaboration among an interdisciplinary participant group comprised of physicians, radiobiologists, and radiation physicists. Based on the premise that interdisciplinary medical research collaboration requires a shared understanding of authentic problems from multiple perspectives, this design research case documents the design and implementation of an online case study incorporating collaborative inquiry in interdisciplinary teams with the intended outcome of building or strengthening interdisciplinary communication skills. Contextual factors - including the design team and design process - influencing the design of the activity are documented. Results indicate that using an interactive online case study as the basis for collaborative inquiry in small, interdisciplinary teams followed by a summative, large group discussion resulted in (1) evidence-based treatment decisions based on the data supplied in the case study and (2) participation of all disciplines in team interactions. Outcomes also indicated the building or strengthening of interdisciplinary communication skills and the understanding of the value and contribution of all three fields to radiation oncology treatment resulted in the participation of the online case study.

Enhancing Graduate Students' Ability to Conduct and Communicate Research through an Interdisciplinary Lens.

This research is a part of a longitudinal study of the Computation and Mathematics for Biological Networks (COMBINE) program at the University of Maryland. The mission of COMBINE is to train doctoral students from a wide range of fields to pursue interdisciplinary research. Here, we focus on one component of COMBINE, a semester-long course titled Data Practicum at the Intersection of the Physical, Computer, and Life Sciences. The goal of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the teaching practices that were used in the Data Practicum. We investigated their impact on graduate students’ confidence to conduct research through an interdisciplinary lens and to communicate their research to diverse audiences. We used validated pre- and post-course online surveys, in-class observations, collection of artifacts, and interviews. Interviewed students and instructors highlighted the course’s iterative process, peer review system, and unique incorporation of outside research already being conducted by students as the most impactful aspects of the course. Based on students’ reports and artifacts, the Data Practicum was successful in helping them to communicate their research visually, orally, and in text to a wide and varied audience, to critically review others’ work, inside and outside their discipline, and to develop awareness of research in other disciplines. We observed that it is possible to enhance interdisciplinary communication skills through an iterative teaching approach that gives students a chance to incorporate feedback from multiple sources. This course could serve as a model for other graduate programs wishing to increase training in interdisciplinary skills.

Advances in clinical pharmacy education in Germany: a quasi-experimental single-blinded study to evaluate a patient-centred clinical pharmacy course in psychiatry

BackgroundThe pharmacy profession has shifted towards patient-centred care. To meet the new challenges it is necessary to provide students with clinical competencies. A quasi-experimental single-blinded teaching and learning study was carried out using a parallel-group design to evaluate systematically the benefits of clinical teaching in pharmacy education in Germany.MethodsA clinical pharmacy course on a psychiatric ward was developed and implemented for small student groups. The learning aims included: the improvement of patient and interdisciplinary communication skills and the identification and management of pharmaceutical care issues. The control group participated only in the preparation lecture, while the intervention group took part in the complete course. The effects were assessed by an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and a student satisfaction survey.ResultsThe intervention group achieved significantly better overall results on the OSCE assessment (46.20 ± 10.01 vs. 26.58 ± 12.91 of a maximum of 90 points; p < 0.0001).The practical tasks had the greatest effect, as reflected in the outcomes of tasks 1–5 (34.94 ± 9.60 vs. 18.63 ± 10.24 of a maximum of 60 points; p < 0.0001). Students’ performance on the theoretical tasks (tasks 6–10) was improved but unsatisfying in both groups considering the maximum score (11.50 ± 4.75 vs. 7.50 ± 4.00 of a maximum of 30 points; p < 0.0001). Of the students, 93% rated the course as practice-orientated, and 90% felt better prepared for patient contact. Many students suggested a permanent implementation and an extension of the course.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the developed ward-based course provided learning benefits for clinical skills. Students’ perception of the course was positive. Implementation into the regular clinical pharmacy curriculum is therefore advisable.

Identification and Formulation of Polymers: A Challenging Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Chemistry Lab Assignment

Prior to the recycling process, raising awareness of plastic waste impact, e.g., polluting oceans worldwide, is undoubtedly a first attempt to tackle this pandemic environmental issue. With this in mind, the presented practical session is an effort to entice an interdisciplinary audience of science undergraduates toward a sustainable future. The associated assignment focuses on a collaboration of undergraduate chemistry students and engineering undergraduates with a minor program in chemistry. Acting on an adequate uncluttered mind map of practical guidelines, the students acquire and exchange multiple “good laboratory practice” skills. By this, engineering undergraduates get acquainted with chemicals, e.g., polymers, while future chemists get an impression of how economics is concerned to maintain a balance between economy and ecology, i.e., a circular economy. In a grand finale, the students present their interdisciplinary communication skills via a poster exhibition: “chemistry meets economics”. Moreov...

Integrated Mental Health Training for Pediatric and Psychology Trainees Using Standardized Patient Encounters

Primary care pediatricians and psychology practitioners who comanage mental health problems can develop interdisciplinary communication and collaborative skills from joint standardized patient encounters and debriefings, combined with brief didactics. Learners showed increased confidence in shared management of behavior health problems.

Using a Standardized Patient to Improve Collaboration and Problem Solving Skills With CPAP Usage in the Home.

A review of literature revealed a lack of research pertaining to nurses' or student nurses' knowledge of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and the ability to troubleshoot CPAP malfunction. This study sought to answer the following questions: What are associate degree nursing (ADN) students' knowledge, interdisciplinary communication, and problem-solving skills regarding patients' home use of CPAP? Is there a change after participation in a simulation with a patient on CPAP in home setting? Twenty-one ADN students enrolled in small Midwest college participated. A preexperimental design of one group pretest posttest was used. Each student completed a demographic questionnaire, Mayo High Performance Teamwork Scale, Interprofessional collaborative simulation experience survey, and a CPAP knowledge base survey before and upon completion of the simulation. There were no changes in students' comfort, baseline knowledge, and basic understanding regarding CPAP. However, after the simulation, students described more detailed problem-solving skills, which included using respiratory therapists, durable medical equipment providers, and community resources. On the Mayo High Performance Teamwork Scale, all 16 items demonstrated improved scores (baseline mean = 21.65 and postsimulation mean = 25.6).

SBAR 적용 시뮬레이션 교육이 간호학생의 의료팀간 의사소통능력 향상에 미치는 효과

SBAR 적용 시뮬레이션 교육이 간호학생의 의료팀간 의사소통능력 향상에 미치는 효과

How Can Teachers Motivate Students to Study Theoretical Modules in Public relations?/Como Pueden Los Maestros Motivar a Los Estudiantes Para Estudiar Modelos Teóricos En Relaciones Públicas

1. IntroductionIn the past two decades, public relations education has witnessed considerable growth and academic attention. Public relations education has been connected in the literature to the industry professionalism (Pavlik & Salmon, 1984). In other words, it is a core requirement for preparing a professional PR practitioner. Some scholars associated PR professionalism with the beginning of PR education (L'Etang & Pieczka, 1996) and emphasised the importance of education to enhance the growth of PR (Newsom, Turk, & Kuruckeberg, 1999). However, many PR see the field very practically and consider PR theoretical modules as boring and not important. This raises the question: How can teachers design theoretical courses in a practical field such as public relations? Based on Grunig and Hunt's study undertaken in 1984, PR courses should provide with PR management and commu- nication skills, besides practical experience through using theoretical knowledge in practice. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how to motivate to make sense of what they are studying in the PR theoretical modules which the researcher/teacher was teaching through learning-by-doing activities. The research uses an action research process to improve the procedures of learning-by-doing exercises.2. Literature Review2.1 Public relations education & practiceA study undertaken by Al-Rashid (2004) on PR practitioners in Bahrain ministries found that more than the half of PR practitioners in Bahrain ministries (52%) agreed that experience and intuition are more important than academic theory when solving a PR problem, and (26%) tended to agree. On the other hand, the research also revealed that (48%) of the respondents agreed, and (37%) tended to agree, that theory and research contribute to professionalism in the PR industry (Al-Rashid, 2004). However, there is a gap between theory and practice in public relations raised by Cornelissen's question (2000) of how academic theories can be used in common daily PR practice. This research argues that in order to bridge this gap, we should design PR theoretical modules in a way that would prepare the to apply them in practice.2.2 The relationship between PR theory & practiceAlthough see a gap between theoretical modules and practice, this study claims that there is an interrelated relationship between theory and practice in PR. The role of the teacher is to enhance this relationship. Theory can be used to solve daily PR problems (the instrumental model), in addition to providing general views when practising public relations (the conceptual model) (Cornelissen, 2000). Thus, this research attempts to study how this relationship can be achieved and facilitated starting from university. Neff and other scholars (1999) found that a PR educational programme should assist PR to develop an interdisciplinary foundation, communication and public relations-specific knowledge and skills. It was argued that these skills can be learned more effectively in a university setting (Wang, 2003, p. 13). However, Surveys of Professionals and Educators showed that students are poorly prepared in terms of basic communication skills, which ironically are the very capabilities that are in demand in order to succeed in the 'real world' (Wang, 2003, p. 11).2.3 The Ripple Model of LearningBased on the Ripple Model of Learning presented by Race (2005), there are five factors underpinning successful learning: wanting to learn, needing to learn, learning by doing (practice, trial and repetition), learning through feedback, and making sense of things (Race, 2005). This research seeks to study the role of the teacher to connect these factors and enhance them in the classroom. Race (2005) suggested that if the lack the want and need to learn, the teacher can start from facilitating learning-by-doing activities, and get the student making sense of what they have been doing. …

Expert opinion regarding the preparation of entry-level physiotherapists for primary healthcare practice, examined using Biggs 3P’s model of teaching learning

Introduction: The scope of contemporary physiotherapy practice is a critical factor in determining the appropriate educational preparation for physiotherapists now and into the future. The world-wide shift from secondary to primary healthcare has, and is, continuing to result in new and different ways of working. It is crucial that curricular changes reflect these developments. In this study a qualitative approach using Biggs 3P’s – Pressage, Process and Product model to discuss curriculum design. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the perspectives of both national and international physiotherapy educators/practitioners in primary healthcare, on the key elements required in physiotherapy education programmes to prepare future primary healthcare practitioners. Methods: Snowball sampling was used to identify experts in education and/or primary healthcare practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide based on the Biggs 3P’s model. Participants: Twelve participants were recruited from Ireland (n = 2), the UK (n = 4), Canada (n = 3), New Zealand (n = 2) and Australia (n = 1) using snowball sampling. Results: Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Themes identified included; understanding the philosophy of physiotherapy practice, cultural competence, inter-disciplinary team working and communication skills. Contextual factors and teaching and learning strategies were discussed. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for physiotherapy education programmes to adopt the concept of primary healthcare as the basis for the physiotherapy curriculum and illuminate key components for consideration.