Today's image was suggested by Carol Bron. Click on the image to open it to full size. You can then save it and turn it into a desktop background by following these brief instructions. … [Read more...] about 30 Days of September: Day 3
Trump, Brexit and physiotherapy
Like most people, I'm still feeling the shock of Donald Trump's US presidential election win last week. Once all the dust has settled, and people have started to face up to what has been called the 'post-truth' era in politics (see this or this), there will have to be some real soul searching about what this all means for the future of our societies. Big issues like environmental degradation, personal security, tolerance for others, and health, will play out alongside more 'local' issues like paying the weekly bills, dealing with family problems, and managing our busy lives. Amidst all this 'noise' its worth reflecting on something subtle but highly significant about this recent … [Read more...] about Trump, Brexit and physiotherapy
Is physiotherapy linked to the birth of modern writing?
Here's a thought. On Stephen Downes' ever reliable site, Downes recently reviewed an essay on Aeon by William Eamon, titled 'Six centuries of secularism: When the first ‘how-to’ books began to explain the way the world worked, they paved the way for science and secularism' (link). Now before you close the blog and think "what on earth did that have to do with physiotherapy", consider this argument from Downes, who summarises Eamon's ideas as an; [i]nteresting thesis: "by elaborating mechanical processes and spelling out how things worked – in striking contrast to the well-documented secrecy of the guilds – writers began to transform the mechanical arts from personal know-how into … [Read more...] about Is physiotherapy linked to the birth of modern writing?
Closed boxes
This blogpost was first published by Dave Nicholls on 26 July 2011 via www.crticalphysio.me. Since 2007 I've been involved in a comprehensive curriculum review project. We've delivered the first year of the programme once now and this year (2011) we've moved on to year 2. Naturally, we're arrived at the point where we need to think about some of the minutiae of what is being taught. Some of the staff in our team are concerned that some of the content of the old curriculum could have been lost or postponed in the move to the new curriculum; leaving us with an excessively heavy third year or worse still, a curriculum that doesn't 'train' physiotherapists fit-for-practice. So, on the … [Read more...] about Closed boxes
Evidence based medicine: why are we even debating it?
This post comes from CPN member Carley King. Carley is a physiotherapist who has developed an interest in evidence based medicine during her Masters in Clinical Research. Here Carley reports on the recent debate on the value of Evidence based medicine at the CSP Congress. Spoiler alert: I’m not sure that evidence-based medicine (EBM) as we understand it at the moment is fit for purpose. That’s my bias out in the open! But on hearing this opening line, I couldn't help but allow a small part of me to wonder if it was ridiculous to even consider an alternative...a very clever debating ploy there! As the debate progressed, it became clear to me that there were some key issues … [Read more...] about Evidence based medicine: why are we even debating it?
Posts worth reading – update on interesting posts and ideas from around the web
Here is an update on some recent posts from around the Internet that may be of interest: What scientific idea is ready for retirement? From Brian Christian at Edge.com Scientific Knowledge Should Be Structured as "Literature" In my view, what's most outmoded within science, most badly in need of retirement, is the way we structure and organize scientific knowledge itself. Academic literature, even as it moves online, is a relic of the era of typesetting, modeled on static, irrevocable, toothpaste-out-of-the-tube publication. Just as the software industry has moved from a "waterfall" process to an "agile" process—from monolithic releases shipped from warehouses of mass-produced disks to … [Read more...] about Posts worth reading – update on interesting posts and ideas from around the web
Are we gatekeepers, or locksmiths?
This post originally appeared as a reflection at usr/space, after reading David's post on the profession as a gated community. It got me thinking about how the metaphors we use inform our thinking and practice. David Nicholls recently blogged about how we might think about access to physiotherapy education, and offers the metaphor of a gated community as one possibility. The staff act as the guards at the gateway to the profession and the gate is a threshold across which students pass only when they have demonstrated the right to enter the community. This got me thinking about the metaphors we use as academics, particularly those that guide how we think about our role as examiners. David's … [Read more...] about Are we gatekeepers, or locksmiths?