To identify the implications of and impact on physiotherapy professional evolution and practice following completion of a MSc in Rehabilitation within a UK/China Joint Education Institute.
Anonymous online survey through email approach to new MSc graduates (alumni) in Sept 2024. Open questions for collection of qualitative data. Thematic analysis.
15 new MSc graduates from the UWEC Joint Education Programme responded to the survey.
Personal
Participants viewed the MSc as an ‘unmissable opportunity’, with the international orientated learning resources and opportunities being the ‘biggest harvest’. Learning new skills of reflection and critical thinking enabled therapists to think more independently about problems, and to explain with more evidence. Multiple respondents reported both a learning efficiency and a new calmness in approach to studies and learning, through having experienced a more participative way of learning. English language competency, critical thinking and leadership skills were pivotal in making them stand out in the rehabilitation employment market.
Professional
In terms of professionalism, gaining trust and persuading others, including the medical profession, was easier through having more credibility in the rehabilitation field, leading to professional ‘upliftment’. In the workplace, graduates were committed to making adjustments to the scope and content of their work, using the models and theories learnt to analyse events and find solutions to problems. Pioneering a different way of doing things and working to change the professional status of physiotherapists in China was a focus for many. Participants reported gaining more leadership roles and having new confidence to debate and question within their practice and organisation, an aspect that is not perhaps the cultural norm.
Practice
A reported gap between the acute clinical field and the rehabilitation field in China was seen as an opportunity. Participants saw better opportunities for optimisation of rehabilitation therapy in China's medical system by conducting research on rehabilitation, disability, and society. Their international perspective and ‘change in mindset’ put them in a better position to formulate healthcare policy in the government sector.
Graduates reported thinking differently, being more critical and reflective in their learning and practice, and being promoted into leadership, educational roles or progressing to further studies/research. The MSc being taught in English created international opportunities, particularly for doctoral studies overseas.
The value of a MSc Rehabilitation that promoted transferable attributes such as research skills, leadership, reflection, and critical thinking was recognised, although initially Chinese therapists were disconcerted that the masters was not focussed specifically on treatment skills and specific therapies.
The start of a change in professional culture and autonomy for therapists working in China was apparent – being exposed to international concepts around Rehabilitation, living well with long term conditions, and leadership enabled physiotherapists to consider alternative approaches.
Professional Evolution
Practice
