This study aimed to analyze the data of students from all 9 registered physiotherapy programs at China’s Mistry of Education. We sought to explore students’ experiences during the 4 essential physiotherapy clinical placements in musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiorespiratory, and pediatric physiotherapy.
A survey was conducted from 2022-2024 and completed by students after finishing their placement in a specific area. Students volunteered to provide feedback on each placement block, which was anonymous and would not affect their marks. The feedback included 4 domains, i.e., self-rating of their performance, quality of supervision, significant achievements, and significant challenges. Their feedback was then analyzed and synthesized.
The number of correspondents for each placement were 410 (musculoskeletal), 419 (neurological), 158(cardiorespiratory), and 252(pediatric). Students were the most satisfied with their performance for musculoskeletal placement (83.1% rated very good), and the least satisfied for pediatric placement (72.9% rated very good). These results were consistent with their ratings on the quality of supervision that they received, with the musculoskeletal placement being the most satisfactory (76.7% rated very good), and the pediatric placement being the least satisfactory (67.3% rated very good). The top 10 significant achievements identified were 1) clinical skills, 2) application of theory, 3) communication skills, 4) clinical experience, 5) interdisciplinary practice, 6) problem solving skills, 7) self-reflection, 8) quality of care, 9) psychological support to clients, and 10) professional identify. The top 10 significant challenges identified were 1) insufficient cardiorespiratory skills taught at university, 2) subjective assessment skills, 3) manual therapy techniques taught at university, 4) clinical decision making, 5) time management and multitasking, 6) adaption to changes of clinical environment, 7) inconsistent information from different supervisors, 8) critical care, 9) stress management, and 10) knowledge about different health care professionals.
Chinese physiotherapy students were the most satisfied with their performance and quality of supervision for musculoskeletal placement while the quality of pediatric placement needs to be improved. The top 10 significant achievements and challenges identified from students’ experience are useful in curriculum adjustment and design.
The students’ feedback collected via PT-eBridge is important for understanding students’ experience in clinical education, which provides valuable information for universities to better prepare student for clinical placements and improve the quality of physiotherapy education in China.
clinical supervision
learning experience
