Physiotherapy students' and clinical teachers' perceptions of clinical learning opportunities: a case study

The attainment of clinical competence is a key outcome of physiotherapy programmes worldwide. Clinical education forms a core component of the training of physiotherapy students.

The study on which this article is based aimed to investigate what physiotherapy students and clinical teachers at one physiotherapy training institution perceive as effective opportunities to facilitate learning in a clinical context.

A survey of staff and students at the physiotherapy division at Stellenbosch University was undertaken as one element of a situational case study. All enrolled physiotherapy students with clinical education experience and all clinical teachers involved in the clinical education of these students were invited to participate. A purpose-built questionnaire was developed and validated before being administered.

The response rate was 80%. The clinical teaching and learning opportunities deemed most valuable for learning by students and teachers were demonstrations of patient management, feedback, discussions and assessment. Teachers and students varied in their perceptions of the learning value of peer assessment, self-assessment and reflection.

The study provided indications for teachers on the valuable learning opportunities as perceived by students and teachers in a physiotherapy clinical setting. The activities perceived as most effective in facilitating learning in the clinical milieu were demonstrations of patient management, discussion, feedback and assessment. Participants indicated that they valued individual contact with teachers and that they learnt productively from discussions with the teachers. It was reported that immediate and verbal feedback improved the learning experience. Both formative assessment in the form of a mock assessment and summative assessment in the form of an end-of-block test were identified as important in facilitating learning. Further research is required on peer assessment, self-assessment and reflection to establish the role of these aspects of learning.