INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL TELEHEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENT CLINICAL PLACEMENTS: AN INNOVATION PROGRAM

M. Constantinou¹, C. Sonsearay¹, G. Wickham¹, M. Brown¹

¹Australian Catholic University, School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Brisbane, Australia

Background: A unique opportunity occurred for final year physiotherapy students in 2021 and 2022, due to COVID-19 restrictions limiting international travel, with international Virtual Telehealth Clinical Experiences developed as part of an innovation program and embedded in 5-week musculoskeletal or neurological clinical placements at an Australian university.

Purpose: 1) To provide an international experience for Australian physiotherapy students to facilitate understanding of other cultures and health care systems, 2) to develop telehealth skills in physiotherapy students in preparation for the changing landscape of online consultations 3) to provide support and training to physiotherapists and healthcare workers in developing nations, and 4) to grow and strengthen existing relationships with international partners in the absence of face-to-face travel.

Methods: The program consisted of: a student/partner briefing session prior to commencement; a student/partner orientation session in Week 1; twice weekly telehealth sessions for physiotherapy students, in-country patients and physiotherapy/ healthcare workers in Weeks 2-4; a presentation and patient handover by students in Week 5; and a final day debrief session with the students, and with the international partners. Five programs were funded by Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade New Colombo Plan grants.

Results: In 2021-2022, nine 5-week block virtual telehealth programs in two Pacific Nations were attended by 36 final year physiotherapy students and six of their supervisors. A total of 36 physiotherapists or healthcare workers from these Pacific Nations interacted with the physiotherapy staff and students. Patients and athletes from these countries accessed treatment, exercise programs and education. Feedback from students was positive describing the experience as “very interesting – enjoyed it and learning about the challenges of doing telehealth” and a “good opportunity to be educators – stepped out of being a student and had to educate the other physios” and “helped us develop our communication skills” and "clinical reasoning skills”. The students found “having to come up with different ways to ask questions was good”, while “prescribing exercises – was challenging in explaining how to do the exercises rather than being there hands-on. Photos and explanations were key to explaining and live demonstrations”. One student summed up the experience “makes me realise what my very first session was like – was nervous at the start, and compared to the last week which was smooth, I have rapport with patients, there is a sequence in doing things”, while another found it “really beneficial for my learning and development as an experience I never had before, I thought it was positive”. All students would recommend the experience to other students, finding it worthwhile. Feedback from the international partners was positive, stating they appreciated the students’ professionalism, education for the patients and partners and improving their skills in physiotherapy and telehealth from interactions with students and their supervisors.

Conclusions: International telehealth programs are effective in providing Australian Physiotherapy students and physiotherapists/healthcare workers from developing nations with knowledge and skills in intercultural learnings, physiotherapy and telehealth.

Implications: Virtual and telehealth programs can provide alternate clinical experiences for physiotherapy students and education, training and patient consultations in low-resource countries.

Funding acknowledgements: Five from nine programs were funded by Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade New Colombo Plan grants.

Keywords:
Online
Digital health
Consultation

Topics:
Education: clinical
Service delivery/emerging roles
Professional practice: other

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: This was not a research project but rather an innovation program developed to provide students with alternative clinical placement experiences.