- Title
- Clinical prediction rules in physiotherapy clinical education
- Creator
- Knox, Grahame Munro
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2019
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Clinical reasoning is an important skill for physiotherapy students to master, though it can be challenging given their limited clinical experience. Tools exist to aid clinical decision-making, and one that is evidence-based is the clinical prediction rule (CPR). CPRs are algorithms that combine patient characteristics and clinical features into numerical indices to predict the probability of a clinical condition or outcome. Physiotherapy clinical educators play a key role in facilitating clinical reasoning skills in students; however it is unknown whether students learn about CPRs in the clinical setting. A series of four linked studies, using a variety of research methodologies, was conducted to determine the awareness and use of CPRs by physiotherapy students and clinical educators, and then to propose key components for an educational package. Physiotherapy clinical educators and final year pre-professional students were separately surveyed to ascertain their awareness and use of CPRs, including the teaching of CPRs on clinical placement, the relationship with clinical decision-making, and relationship with evidence-based practice. Clinical educators were subsequently interviewed for their views on educational strategies on CPRs for clinical educators. Finally an international panel of experts were consulted in a modified Delphi study to finalise the essential content and optimal methods of delivery for an educational package for clinical educators. Clinical educators reported a poor awareness, understanding and use of CPRs, and few taught them to students. Students similarly reported little awareness and minimal use of CPRs. However those students who were more familiar with CPRs found them useful in promoting their clinical decision-making skills. Clinical educators agreed that an educational package on CPRs for educators would be desirable for improving their clinical use of CPRs and teaching of CPRs. Building on the views of the clinical educators, physiotherapy experts in CPRs recommended the content of this educational package should cover why, when and how to use CPRs clinically, and their limitations. Information on the different types of CPRs, with specific examples, was also identified as important. Online delivery was endorsed via self-directed learning and webinars, along with access to electronic versions of actual CPRs. Self-assessment of learning was also supported. In summary, physiotherapy students and clinical educators have a poor understanding and limited or no clinical experience in using CPRs, but this could possibly be addressed by the development of an evidence-based educational package for clinical educators. Improving physiotherapy clinical educators’ knowledge of CPRs may lead to physiotherapy students gaining a greater understanding and ability to use CPRs while on clinical placement.
- Subject
- clinical education; clinical prediction rules; clinical reasoning; physiotherapy; thesis by publication
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1408731
- Identifier
- uon:35879
- Rights
- Copyright 2019 Grahame Munro Knox
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 30 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 535 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |