Physiotherapy desperately needs more journals. Not the kind of journals that have 4,ooo word limits, or the kinds that still celebrate passive third-person prose, but the kind where the quality of ideas trump the elegance of the scatter plot. We need journals where physiotherapists can engage in the kinds of discussion you see in Nursing Inquiry, Body and Society or Health. These journals are fora where writers can exercise Karl Popper's assertion that the scholarly community should not prop up existing beliefs, but should commit all its not insignificant resources to tearing down current dogmas and ideologies, creating a space where new ideas can prosper. Physiotherapists have … [Read more...] about New: Journals
New: Old ideas
It is an old cliche, but there is rarely anything entirely new in the world, and sometimes some of the newest and most exciting innovations are merely reinventions of old ideas. Over the last few days, a story has appeared in the news of a young All Black rugby player who, only a few weeks ago, fractured his leg in a game. The story is newsworthy for two reasons: (a) the Rugby World Cup starts in a few days time, and (b) he is only being considered to be fit to play because of a rather unusual remedy. Waisake Naholo’s recovery from a fractured fibula has been reported widely around the world, because he chose to return to Fiji to be treated by his local doctor, Isei Naiova, who had … [Read more...] about New: Old ideas
New: Open badges
Some people reading this blog may be old enough to remember a time when physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other professions allied to medicine were trained in colleges and schools attached to large teaching hospitals. Others will have only known the university system. For most of us though, the university holds a special significance. It is where knowledge is acquired and one discovers the rudiments of one's future practice. (Of course, we all know the real learning takes place in the clinical environment, but this only serves to enhance the ivory tower image of the university and the people working within it). You used to go to university to acquire an education and a … [Read more...] about New: Open badges