What is 'disability'? Exploring the conceptions of internationally educated learners in a Canadian physical therapy...

Physiotherapists' understanding of disability has direct relevance for their practices and work with disabled people.

To explore how physiotherapists from diverse backgrounds, cultures and social locations conceptualize disability. Understanding their conceptualizations will provide insight to determine future directions regarding disability education, in healthcare education, to optimize the quality of care and life for individuals with disabilities.

Six internationally educated physiotherapists enrolled in a Canadian physical therapy bridging program were interviewed and data were analyzed for themes.

Participants' conceptualizations of disability were complex and a dynamic process that reflected what was 'thinkable' in relation to experience, such as with social location and in personal, professional and educational domains. This primary theme was reflected in three subthemes: 1) Professional PT acculturation shaped disability conceptualization in particular ways; 2) Medical model as the dominant way of thinking; and 3) Social model thinking was more feasible in resource rich contexts.

These results reinforce the benefits of a wide exposure to different ways of conceptualizing and addressing disability within PT education to counter the dominance of the medical model and reinforce the importance of advocacy and allyship with disabled people.