Search

Clinical educators are under increasing pressures in the workplace to provide quality education of healthcare students within varying supervision frameworks. Along with facilitating the teaching of clinical skills, clinical educators play a support role for students and so require more than expert clinical abilities in their vital position linking institutions and the healthcare environment. Twelve physiotherapy clinical educators attended one of two focus groups exploring their opinions on the role and skill set of clinical educators in work-integrated learning (WIL). Clinical educators described their role, their skills, challenges they faced supporting the needs of students, as well as future training requirements. The focus group results highlighted the important role of soft skills in the clinical educator role. The development of this skill set is essential to ensure quality supervision through optimal interactions between clinical educators and students in WIL.

This paper presents the research findings from a study reviewing graduates' opinions on completing online reflective journaling tasks during work integrated learning as an undergraduate. The study was divided into two parts with an initial focus group conducted with six physiotherapy graduates seven months following graduation. Findings from the focus group guided the development of a questionnaire sent to graduates nine months after course completion. Results from both the focus group and questionnaire (n = 25) highlighted the benefits of online, structured, assessed reflective writing tasks. Graduates provided specific examples of their personal and professional development and perceived benefits from undertaking reflective journaling during work integrated learning. These findings may have application across a wide variety of tertiary courses of study with work integrated learning incorporated into curriculum. [Papers included in this "Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education" ("APJCE") Special Issue stem from selected manuscripts from the Australian Collaborative Education Network Annual Conference 2012.]

Background This article describes the use of an activity worksheet and questionnaire to investigate the learning experience of students on clinical placement. The worksheet measures the amount of time students spend in different learning activities, and the questionnaire explores student satisfaction and preferred learning activities. Methods The activity worksheet and questionnaire were used in a cohort pilot study of physiotherapy students on clinical placement. Results The activity worksheet provides details of the amount of time students engage in a range of clinical and non-clinical tasks while on placement, such as time spent treating patients, working individually, working with their peers and engaging in reflective practice. In combination with the questionnaire results, it allows clinicians to gain an understanding of the clinical learning environment experienced by their students. Discussion The data collected using these tools provide a description of the students' activities while undertaking the clinical placement. This information may guide the refinement of the clinical experience, and offers an opportunity to individualise learning activities to match students' needs and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite emerging evidence illustrating the benefits of physical activity for people with binge eating disorder, engaging this population in physical activity is challenging. The International Organization of Physical Therapists in Mental Health (IOPTMH) set out to summarize, appraise, and strengthen the direction of physical activity endeavors. This process led to the identification of 10 important research questions which are discussed. Addressing these 10 research questions is critical for developing evidence-based approaches for promoting and sustaining an active lifestyle in people with binge eating disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]