The Experience of Practice-Based Educators: Supporting Disabled Physiotherapy Students

Each day over the next week I’ll post up an abstract for a paper being presented by a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network at the In Sickness and In Health conference in Mallorca in June 2015.  (You can find more information on the conference here.)

The Experience of Practice-Based Educators: Supporting Disabled Physiotherapy Students

By Karen Atkinson

In the UK we have a substantial history of disabled people entering the physiotherapy profession. The most well-known group is probably those who have visual impairments. Over the last 20 years, however, the picture has changed with more students and graduate physiotherapists who are, for example, users of mental health services, have dyslexia or are deaf or hard of hearing. Even though the presence of disabled physiotherapists is relatively well established in the UK health care services, students and graduates still report substantial barriers to full participation. The physiotherapists who supervise disabled students when they are on clinical placement are key players in the educational process and have a significant role in the students’ eventual success or failure. This work explores the lived experiences of practice-based physiotherapy educators regarding their support of disabled physiotherapy students. The aim is to generate an understanding of the enablers and barriers that affect students’ ability to participate fully and to perform well whilst on clinical placements. Drawing on critical perspectives of disability, the findings provide insights into the perceptions of UK health care professionals, about disabled students. An underlying feature of the ableist medical viewpoint, particularly in relation to patients, is a belief that impairment is inherently negative and should, if possible, be ameliorated, cured or eliminated. The findings show a tendency towards viewing disabled students through a similar lens resulting in stereotypical and sometimes prejudicial attitudes with regard to their ability to perform to the ‘required standards’. It is intended that exploration and development of an understanding of these viewpoints will facilitate dialogue among professionals, encouraging a more informed and critical debate about physiotherapy identity. This could in turn enable us to challenge the existing ‘order of things’ in the educational and health care settings and influence practice in relation to supporting disabled students. Key words: disabled students, physiotherapy, practice based educators, stereotypical attitudes