Physiotherapy students from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh have recently contributed four new evidence based articles to Physiopedia under the theme ‘Current and Emerging Roles in Physiotherapy Practice’. This project has been developed by second year students on the MSc (pre-registration) Physiotherapy programme in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the module ‘Current and Emerging Roles in Physiotherapy Practice’. The aim of the module was to prepare learners for emerging physiotherapy roles in response to changing healthcare needs, evolving contexts of delivery of practice and government health targets. Students worked in groups to build shared articles under each of two main themes: management of enduring conditions where students explored the role of the physiotherapist in public health and self-management and service design and delivery where students considered recent changes in scope of physiotherapy practice as well as the skills and attributes necessary for successful private practice.
This project aimed to fulfil the following module learning outcomes:
- Critically evaluate and synthesise the key issues drawn from the literature, relating to an emerging area of contemporary physiotherapy practice
- Identify and justify the knowledge, skills, behaviours and values which are required by physiotherapists to be effective in undertaking a specified role within the selected area of contemporary physiotherapy practice, both now and in the future.
- Use appropriate software to construct evidence of continuing professional development.
We are particularly impressed with the depth of investigation that the students have undertaken to produce four extensive evidence based articles on Obesity, Multiple Sclerosis, prescribing rights (a current hot topic in the UK) and starting up in private practice. We welcome these contributions, hope that the physiotherapy community will find them useful and look forward to further contributions in future years. Take a look at their articles:
- Management of long-term conditions – physical activity, public health, prevention, treatment, maintainence, aging and health
- Management of long-term conditions – self-management strategies
- Service design and delivery – private practice; leadership; entrepreneurship
- Service design and delivery – changes in scope of physiotherapy practice
Thank you students of QMU!!