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Johanson M.1, Kapasi Z.1
1Emory University, Rehabilitation Medicine, Atlanta, United States
Background: Collaborative educational partnerships between developed and developing countries may lead to increased educational opportunities for students in developing countries. When collaborative educational partnerships focus on the healthcare professions, access to improved healthcare services may also benefit patients in developing countries.
Purpose: Physical therapy faculty in countries with well-developed curricula in physical therapy, such as the United States (US), will increasingly be called upon to assist developing countries' efforts to advance rehabilitation services by improving education for physical therapists. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the preliminary assessment and recommendations for physical therapist curricula in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Methods: Faculty at Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) and leaders in the United States European Command (EUCOM) are eager to improve rehabilitative care for Georgian civilians and wounded warriors. Faculty from TSMU approached physical therapist faculty at Emory University School of Medicine (EUSOM) to provide an assessment of physical therapist education and services in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSMU and EUSOM had previously established a collaboration focused on medical students education. As a result, the first class matriculated into TSMUs newly launched American MD Program in 2013, an international English-speaking medical education program modeled after American medical school curricula. An onsite visit to TSMUs physical therapist program included meetings with administrators/faculty and tours of facilities. Additionally, EUSOM physical therapist faculty visited both civilian and military rehabilitation hospitals and clinic facilities.
Results: TSMUs curriculum in physical therapy and physical therapy services in Tbilisi were compared to the US and preliminary findings were reported to officials from Georgias Ministries of Education, Health and Defense and from EUCOM. Preliminary findings show there is a mismatch between the fairly robust physical therapy curriculum at TSMU and the level at which physical therapists practice; many physical therapists in Tbilisi appear to practice below the level of a physical therapist assistant in the US; exceptions were noted in some pediatric and military practices. The physical therapy curriculum at TSMU does not include any clinical education component. Thus, despite the amount of didactic information provided, the lack of clinical experiences may explain the mismatch between TSMUs physical therapy curriculum and the actual level of service provided by physical therapists in practice. Currently, we plan to develop an International Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, including clinical education experiences at TSMU.
Conclusion(s): Lack of clinical education experiences during the physical therapy curriculum at TSMU may account for the level of physical therapist practice observed in some hospitals and outpatient clinics in Tbilisi.
Implications: As stakeholders in physical therapy education in the United States continue to define excellence in physical therapy education, physical therapy faculty in the US and other developed countries will likely increasingly be called upon to support the efforts of developing countries in advancing their physical therapy education. Therefore, physical therapy educators may consider preparing themselves to serve in these international educational collaborations to foster excellence in physical therapist education throughout the world.
Funding acknowledgements: Funding for travel was provided by Tbilisi State Medical University.
Topic: Globalisation: health systems, policies & strategies
Ethics approval: No ethics approval was required.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
