Good Practice in Australian Physiotherapy Education
Foundation Skills subject using case studies in multidisciplinary learning groups
21 April 2009
A new subject, HLT101 Foundation Skills for Allied Health Professionals was offered for the first time in Autumn 2004 to the first year students in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry and speech pathology. This subject was designed, presented and assessed by an interdisciplinary team of academics.
The School of Community Health is in an optimal position in that four allied health courses (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry and speech pathology) are offered at the same time on one campus. When students from these courses graduate they need to be able to work effectively in a range of mixed discipline health care teams.
Essentially graduates from these four disciplines need to be able to learn to work together so that on graduation their different contributions will complement the care of their clients (Leathard 1994). CSU has captured an ideal opportunity to enable these four health disciplines to learn together in the same learning environment, and to evaluate the effects of this learning model.
HLT101 includes content that all allied health disciplines require as a foundation. In the past the subject content was taught to each discipline in isolation. HLT101 not only draws students together, but is constructed so that students work cooperatively and collaboratively in interdisciplinary learning groups. Students learn about the process of reflection and how this will enhance their learning. As well, involvement in the project has encouraged lecturers to reflect on their own scholarship in teaching and the learning experiences of their students.
Studies have found that if team conflict and failure are to be reduced, allied health professionals need greater understanding of individual roles, skills and expectations, in order to avoid stereotyping that may at times be negative (Hilton 1995; Pietroni 1991). As well, this understanding needs to be developed early in their education if it is to prove effective (Clark 1997). Prior to 2004 students from these courses were enrolled in the same subjects to learn anatomy, physiology and psychology. However, informal observation revealed that students tended to sit in their discipline groups within the lecture theatre. In HLT101 first year students specifically learnt about teams and teamwork, professional roles, and communication skills, all of which have been reported to be vital to the ability of a health professional to work effectively in teams (Pietroni 1991; Clark 1997; Hilton 1995). Interdisciplinary group work formed the foundation of this subject.
At the end of this subject, students will be able to:
- Describe a basic understanding of their profession, and its role within health care teams;
- Demonstrate an understanding of effective team dynamics;
- Demonstrate attitudes and skills that enhance and promote membership of a professional community;
- Describe at a basic level the framework of the Australian health care system, and in particular its impact on rural and regional practice;
- Describe at a basic level an understanding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) classification system;
- Discuss cultural, and societal influences on client care;
- Describe the concept of clinical reasoning, and basic understanding of critical, analytical, and evaluative skills;
- Understand the concept of being "an agent of change";
- Identify and develop familiarity with effective communication skills in a variety of contexts;
- Demonstrate sound academic writing and referencing skills;
- Detail the principles of nomenclature and terminology used in the Australian Health Care system.
- Describe at a basic level an understanding of the different models of learning, and appreciate the implications of this on their personal and professional development;
- Appreciate and demonstrate those characteristics which enhance autonomous and life long learning;
- Appropriately use, at a beginning level, library databases and understand the differences between them;
- Appropriately use, at a beginning level, IT resources available through CSU
In the first lecture students were randomly assigned to groups of 6-8 that contained no more than 2 of any one discipline. The three assessment tasks called upon students to work collaboratively within their groups in order to succeed. For example, a first workshop task required students to get 4 groups together to play a game, (such as trivial pursuit), where each team had to play as if they were a single individual player. The key to this task lay in communication skills. The groups needed to work hard on communication in order to get all 4 teams at the same venue, at the same time, with a game; playing the game turned out to be the easy part. Through experiential learning, students found out about the key factors in effective team communication. This was reflected in the diaries of the task that were submitted as part of their first assignment. An interactive lecture that followed this task helped students to consolidate their understanding of this important area.
Students witnessed the collaborative process amongst the teaching staff. Particular weight was placed on illustrating the issues relating to professionalism and team work.
Outcomes on several levels have been evaluated including
- The students' perception of team dynamics and team roles in the allied health context
- The lecturers' perception of team dynamics and team roles in the allied health context
- Student feedback on the teaching of the subject
- The lecturers' perception of being involved in an interdisciplinary teaching model
Evaluation involved a multifaceted approach and included:
- Diary of the development process;
- Questionnaires for student and lecturer participants;
- Ongoing "Post-it" evaluations
- CELT Student Subject Survey
- Semi structured interviews
Extensive evaluation is underway. Early findings indicate that students found the interdisciplinary group work both challenging and rewarding. Feedback from co-requisite subjects shows that these students have a more realistic perspective on the role of their profession and others, and a sound understanding of teamwork.
As we are still in the evaluation phase, it is difficult to detail the changes. Some remodeling of the topics is likely, however, the key foundation that requires students to work effectively in teams in order to succeed will remain.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Foundation Skills subject using case studies in multidisciplinary learning groups.pdf | 74.62 KB |