Creating a sustainable physiotherapy placement capacity through innovative models and restructuring

Quinn-Thomas, Fran

Abstract

Background:
Upon reviewing physiotherapy placement requirements, it was noted that placement demand had increased significantly (27% in one academic year). This was due to an increase in student numbers and due to having a high number of placement hours incorporated in the two programmes. When completing forecasting based on predicted student numbers, a further 23% increase was anticipated for the following year, with further growth also expected. However, we noticed a significant decrease in placement offers. For example, one organisation has decreased their placement offers by approximately 40% in one academic year cycle; which is believe to be due to increasing competition and fair share models.
As such, we anticipate that many other universities, across a breadth of healthcare professions will experience placement shortages. We hope that our identified themes, as well as innovations may inspire others to think of strategies to achieve placement sustainability, which is imperative to meet healthcare workforce needs of the future.
Approach and Innovation:
We undertook a consultation phase with stakeholders where key themes were identified:
-The timings of placements
oPlacements near key periods of leave (e.g. half term) should be avoided
oBeneficial to have the same start/end date to placements
-The duration of placements
oLiked total number of hours across programme
oPlacements of six weeks were preferred
-Preparedness for placement
oStudents are under-prepared for working environment in early placements
oLack of work experience opportunities
-Preparedness for employment
oIncreased need for new graduates to be able to work autonomously and delegate to others
oDiversification of employment opportunities
Following the consultation phase, we proposed a restructuring to address the points above which in brief included:
-Increasing placement lengths to 5 or 6 weeks where possible
-Reduced overlap of cohorts
-Standardised start and end dates
-Introduced a 3-week simulated placement experience for MSci year 1 with a week in clinical practice (mentored by a 4th year student where possible)
-Introduced an Advanced Pillars of Practice (APP) placement for MSc students
Key Findings:
Through this process, we required 108 less traditional placements in AY 2023/24 than the year before, with a decrease of 374.6 weeks; whilst maintaining the total number of placement hours.
The simulated placement weeks focused on introducing students to working in healthcare. Although there were mixed student perceptions about this, early feedback suggests that this did prepare students better for placements. Our learning is that organisation and expectations of simulation are of paramount importance to increase engagement and student satisfaction.
Regrettably, the APP placement was poorly evaluated by students. Although this should be acknowledged and improvements needed (particularly in relation to expectations), it is important to also recognise that there have been substantial outputs including: a published report, a poster presentation, two papers likely and supporting documentation to a research project.
Next Steps:
We are looking at expanding both placement models across different professions after further evaluation of student and educator feedback.

Citation

Quinn-Thomas, F. (2024, December). Creating a sustainable physiotherapy placement capacity through innovative models and restructuring. Presented at NET Conference 2024: Igniting change: breaking boundaries with digital innovation and creativity in healthcare education, Virtual

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: NET Conference 2024: Igniting change: breaking boundaries with digital innovation and creativity in healthcare education
• Start Date: Dec 11, 2024
• Acceptance Date: Oct 22, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1200040
• Related Public URLs: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-11/Abstracts%20-%20NET%20Conference%202024.pdf; ; https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-10/NET%202024%20programme%20231024.pdf