Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Gold Coast, 4226, Australia.
BMC Med Educ. 2019 Apr 16;19(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1540-z.
No documented standard or core competencies exist for paediatric curriculum in entry-level physiotherapy programs in Australia. Consequently, extensive variability is thought to exist amongst Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs for preparing physiotherapists to work safely and effectively with children. The purpose of this study was to explore the landscape of paediatric curriculum in Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs and identify the paediatric content being covered, its perceived importance according to university academics who teach paediatrics, the mode of delivery and assessment, and the strengths, weaknesses, barriers and facilitators to implementing paediatric curriculum.
A web-based desktop audit and an online cross-sectional survey using closed and open-ended questions was administered to all Australian universities offering entry-level physiotherapy programs in November 2017. Content coverage and perceived level of importance for paediatric content areas were determined using Likert scale responses. Open-ended responses were thematically analysed to identify key themes for strengths, weaknesses and facilitators to implementation of paediatric curriculum.
All (n = 20, 100%) entry-level programs used the terms lifespan, child and/or paediatrics somewhere in at least one subject descriptor. Forty-five percent (n = 9) of universities did not use the terms lifespan, child or paediatric in their published learning objectives. Eight (40%) universities offered a paediatric stand-alone course. Sixty-five (13/20) percent of universities invited, responded to the survey. For paediatric conditions the perceived level of importance was predominately higher than its course content coverage for 19 of the 31 conditions surveyed. Key barriers to implementating paediatric curriculum were: crowded curriculum, limited financial resources resulting in a lack of qualified staff, lack of prioritisation of paediatric curriculum and inadequate paediatric placement availability. Facilitators for effective implementation of paediatric content were stand-alone paediatric subjects, demonstrated dedication to paediatric curriculum and having suitably qualified faculty members.
The results of this survey provide the physiotherapy community with the views of paediatric physiotherapy academic educators regarding the content, perceived need to expand content delivery in identified clinical areas, and the barriers and facilitators to implementing paediatric content in Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs. Further research exploring similar questions with paediatric physiotherapy clinicians would complement the findings of this study.
澳大利亚入门级物理治疗课程中，没有针对儿科课程的记录标准或核心能力。因此，人们认为澳大利亚入门级物理治疗课程在为物理治疗师提供安全有效地治疗儿童的能力方面存在很大差异。本研究的目的是探索澳大利亚入门级物理治疗课程中的儿科课程，并确定所涵盖的儿科内容、教授儿科的大学学者认为的重要程度、教学模式和评估方法，以及实施儿科课程的优势、劣势、障碍和促进因素。
2017 年 11 月，我们对所有提供入门级物理治疗课程的澳大利亚大学进行了基于网络的桌面审计和在线横断面调查，使用封闭式和开放式问题。使用李克特量表的回答来确定儿科内容领域的内容覆盖范围和感知重要性。对开放式回答进行主题分析，以确定实施儿科课程的优势、劣势和促进因素的关键主题。
所有（n=20，100%）入门级课程在至少一个学科描述中使用了“生命周期”、“儿童”和/或“儿科”这几个术语。45%（n=9）的大学在其发布的学习目标中没有使用“生命周期”、“儿童”或“儿科”这几个术语。8 所（40%）大学提供了单独的儿科课程。65%（13/20）的大学受邀并对调查做出了回应。对于儿科疾病，在所调查的 31 种疾病中，有 19 种疾病的感知重要性明显高于其课程内容覆盖范围。实施儿科课程的主要障碍是：课程拥挤、有限的财务资源导致缺乏合格的员工、对儿科课程的重视程度不够以及儿科实习机会不足。有效实施儿科内容的促进因素是单独的儿科科目、对儿科课程的投入以及拥有合格的教师。
本调查结果为物理治疗界提供了儿科物理治疗学术教育者对内容、在已确定的临床领域扩大内容提供的感知需求、以及在澳大利亚入门级物理治疗课程中实施儿科内容的障碍和促进因素的看法。对儿科物理治疗临床医生进行类似问题的进一步研究将补充本研究的结果。
