What clinical competencies do we expect from physiotherapy students at the University of the Western Cape?

Abstract

The purpose o f this study is to identify the clinical competencies that are expected o f physiotherapy students at the University o f the Western Cape. A list o fte n categories o f clinical competencies was first compiled from the literature and administered to 2 lecturers, 5 clinical supervisors and 10 fin a l year students, to elicit their perspectives o f expected clinical competencies. Based on the outcome o f this, a list o f eight categories o f competencies was administered to 7 lecturers, 50 clinical supervisors and 31 fin a l year students. Participants were requested to rank the competencies in order o f what was considered to be essential. The analysis o f 79 responses revealed similarities among lecturers, clinical supervisors and students in the ranking o f three competencies, but disparities in the ranking o f fiv e competencies. Reasons fo r the disparities, and the impact o f the disparities on students are discussed. Further research is recommended to identify the reasons fo r the disparities.