KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS ABOUT SUPERVISION SKILLS DURING THE CLINICAL ROTATION OF INTERNSHIP

Abstract

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Clinical rotation is perceived as a burden by students due to number of challenges in clinical environment that impedes their learning in clinical areas. The aim of our study was to determine the perception of physical therapy students regarding their preparation which integrate skills and knowledge from the classroom setting into the clinical practice setting.

METHODOLOGY

A cross sectional study was conducted at students of different colleges of Rehabilitation Sciences on 168 participants students, who have done their clinical rotations of internship. The questionnaire was modified according to the current research scenario. It comprised of close ended questions focusing on five domains that includes patient contacts, theory v/s practice gap, communication with clinical supervision, transition from pre-clinical to clinical and knowledge and skills. The data was measured on 5 points Likert scale and was statistically analyzed on IBM SPSS version 2.0

RESULTS

Around 45% students indicated that they hesitated in taking guidance or asking question from clinical supervisors however, 76.6% students reported that a good environmental introduction should be given to the new clerks for smooth transition from pre-clinical to clinical. Moreover, more than half of the students (58%) reported that they were unable to transfer theoretical knowledge into practice and 65% students also mentioned that they were hesitant in taking history and performing physical examination

CONCLUSION

Multiple challenges perceived by the students during their clinical rotations that mainly include inadequate clinical supervision, difficulty in transition from preclinical to clinical, lack of knowledge and skills, gap between theory and practice which hindered their learning.

KEY WORDS

Clinical rotation, internship, perception, physical therapy, knowledge, clinical skills, physical examination, malpractice.