Sanz-Bustillo B1
1Universidad CEU-San Pablo, Physiotherapy, Madrid, Spain
Background: It is generally acknowledged that specialisation of health sciences professionals in the different settings and/or pathological disciplines in which care-givers focus and develop their practice yield numerous benefits not only on practice, treatment and patient's outcome, but also on health systems' services and costs.
However, advanced practice in Physiotherapy (APP) - and/or specialization - recognition is irregular world-wide. For example, the International Standard Classification of Occupations regards four subgroups: Physiotherapist, and Geriatric, Orthopaedic and Paediatric Physical Therapist, while the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community considers none. Additionally, the International Standard Classification of Education includes Physiotherapy under the field “Therapy and Rehabilitation”, together with other qualifications, with the only role of restoring normal physical conditions; in contrast “Medicine” includes a number of what constitute specialisations, with prevention, diagnosis, care for and treatment functions.
Purpose: To open a debate on a new perspective necessity to approach development and implementation of APP qualifications which, in turn, will contribute to globalization, integration and migration.
Methods: Review of publications in data bases and institutional web pages.
As to APP, the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and its European Region division (ER-WCPT) advocate: worldwide profession's unification and expansion; high standards of practice, education and investigation fosterage; international collaboration and mobility promotion; even more effective regulations facilitation; and excellence and APP encouragement. These objectives are addressed through definitions, principles, position statements, briefing papers, standards, guidelines and workforce initiatives engagement, all aimed to assist Member Organisations (MOs) in developing and implementing procedures for APP formal recognition, respectful of each nation´s diversity.
WCPT strongly supports formal competency-based learning approaches, and ER-WCPT specifically calls for alignment with level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework and for definitions in accordance with the European skills/competences, qualifications and occupations classification. Thus, this paper focuses on the ER-, but is open to be extended globally.
Results: Physiotherapy regulation in Europe remains heterogeneous. ER-WCPT is concerned in uniting the entry-level instruction by setting more detailed curricula criteria. Thus, the procedure to harmonize the profession seems to be enhanced by first consolidating qualifications and, subsequently, clinical practice, in opposition to the procedure being followed for APP.
Conclusion(s): International agreement on APP detailed qualifications seems crucial; namely: definition, structure, minimal threshold curricula contents, skills/competences, outcome requisites, roles and scope of practice for the awarded expertise.
Only through such transparency will commitment of each MO to adapt standardised formation into the country´s social, legal and regulatory circumstances be achievable.
This unified benchmark will enable real mobility and employment possibilities and more equitable patient-care.
Achievement of universal recognition that Physiotherapists are in command of expert competences on the different health sciences spheres is reliant on real qualifications unification through detailed consensus.
Implications: A debate on the feasibility to reach APP through less endeavor- and time-consuming processes is open.
Keywords: Advanced, Practice, Physiotherapy
Funding acknowledgements: Not funded.
However, advanced practice in Physiotherapy (APP) - and/or specialization - recognition is irregular world-wide. For example, the International Standard Classification of Occupations regards four subgroups: Physiotherapist, and Geriatric, Orthopaedic and Paediatric Physical Therapist, while the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community considers none. Additionally, the International Standard Classification of Education includes Physiotherapy under the field “Therapy and Rehabilitation”, together with other qualifications, with the only role of restoring normal physical conditions; in contrast “Medicine” includes a number of what constitute specialisations, with prevention, diagnosis, care for and treatment functions.
Purpose: To open a debate on a new perspective necessity to approach development and implementation of APP qualifications which, in turn, will contribute to globalization, integration and migration.
Methods: Review of publications in data bases and institutional web pages.
As to APP, the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and its European Region division (ER-WCPT) advocate: worldwide profession's unification and expansion; high standards of practice, education and investigation fosterage; international collaboration and mobility promotion; even more effective regulations facilitation; and excellence and APP encouragement. These objectives are addressed through definitions, principles, position statements, briefing papers, standards, guidelines and workforce initiatives engagement, all aimed to assist Member Organisations (MOs) in developing and implementing procedures for APP formal recognition, respectful of each nation´s diversity.
WCPT strongly supports formal competency-based learning approaches, and ER-WCPT specifically calls for alignment with level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework and for definitions in accordance with the European skills/competences, qualifications and occupations classification. Thus, this paper focuses on the ER-, but is open to be extended globally.
Results: Physiotherapy regulation in Europe remains heterogeneous. ER-WCPT is concerned in uniting the entry-level instruction by setting more detailed curricula criteria. Thus, the procedure to harmonize the profession seems to be enhanced by first consolidating qualifications and, subsequently, clinical practice, in opposition to the procedure being followed for APP.
Conclusion(s): International agreement on APP detailed qualifications seems crucial; namely: definition, structure, minimal threshold curricula contents, skills/competences, outcome requisites, roles and scope of practice for the awarded expertise.
Only through such transparency will commitment of each MO to adapt standardised formation into the country´s social, legal and regulatory circumstances be achievable.
This unified benchmark will enable real mobility and employment possibilities and more equitable patient-care.
Achievement of universal recognition that Physiotherapists are in command of expert competences on the different health sciences spheres is reliant on real qualifications unification through detailed consensus.
Implications: A debate on the feasibility to reach APP through less endeavor- and time-consuming processes is open.
Keywords: Advanced, Practice, Physiotherapy
Funding acknowledgements: Not funded.
Topic: Education
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: N/A
Ethics committee: N/A
Reason not required: Not required; research was not applied on humans or animals.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
