A recent study in Physiotherapy Canada looked to try to identify core physiotherapy professional values from both primary and grey literature and the views of physiotherapists attending the 2016 CPA Congress. The findings of the study perhaps unsurprising, with 10 values coming out most strongly: accountabilityadvocacyaltruismcompassion and caringequityexcellenceintegritypatient and client centredrespectsocial responsibility What is interesting about these values is not so much that they are stated at all - after all, most established health professions could and do claim similar values - but rather how they are acquired. Physiotherapy training programmes go to inordinate amounts … [Read more...] about Professional values
Can you teach physiotherapists to be empathic?
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the capabilities that health professionals will need in the future. This is partly because the sheer economics of future healthcare will mean that other ways of delivering routine tasks - those that once required extensive training and expensively employed specialists to deliver them - will be given managed by smart machines, wearables, robotics and AI. A friend of mine was saying the other day that she recently sat with her elderly mother in hospital for two weeks during a bout of illness, and during that time only two of the nurses actually took time to build a relationship with them. The others just came in to do things to her: … [Read more...] about Can you teach physiotherapists to be empathic?
Announcing the 2019 Critical Physiotherapy Course
After 12 months of planning and preparation, the first ever Critical Physiotherapy Course comes to life in February. Run once a month over six months, the course highlights some of the most interesting new ideas in physiotherapy and features some of the CPNs most innovative thinkers. Programme 21 Feb Dave Nicholls - The architecture of movement 21 March Anna Rajala - What's "critical" about critical physiotherapy? Max Horkheimer and the idea of Critical Theory 18 April Gail Teachman - The End of Inclusion? Thinking beyond 'inclusion' with Bourdieu 23 May Patty Thille - What does it mean to care? Thinking with Annemarie Mol 20 June Tobba Sudmann - How to understand … [Read more...] about Announcing the 2019 Critical Physiotherapy Course
Files from 2nd Critical Physiotherapy Course Dress Rehearsal
A huge thank you to Hazel Horobin for her talk on Symbolic meanings in physiotherapy yesterday. As with Tobba Sudmann's session a month earlier, we were treated to another expert but also very accessible reading of an unexplored area of physiotherapy thinking and practice. Here you'll find the PowerPoint slides, the full audio recording of the meeting, and a text file of the chat feed. PowerPoint slides | Audio recording | Chat feed The dress rehearsals are now over and the courses have run without hiccups, so we're all set to begin the full course in February. Here is the provisional programme with more details to follow in the coming weeks. A big thank you again to Tobba and … [Read more...] about Files from 2nd Critical Physiotherapy Course Dress Rehearsal
The first ever Critical Physiotherapy Course goes live
In preparation for the first ever Critical Physiotherapy Course, starting early in 2019, we will be running two introductory sessions for people keen to see if the course is for them. The first event will be on Wednesday 17th October 18:00 (6pm) UTC/GMT, and features Tobba Sudmann from the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences presenting critical reflections on walking and riding in a talk titled 'Being moved: on foot or from horseback'. A month later, on Wednesday 21st November at 18:00 (6pm) UTC/GMT, Hazel Horobin will explore 'Symbolic meanings in physiotherapy practice'. The idea of these two sessions is to test out the technology, establish some best practices for … [Read more...] about The first ever Critical Physiotherapy Course goes live
What should critical physiotherapy do for you?
There have been a few occasions over the last few months when people within the Critical Physiotherapy Network have been asked to do more for physiotherapy. The first time happened after our CPN Salon in Cape Town last year. Our esteemed colleague Professor Dina Brooks began the discussion by asking the CPN to do more to help mainstream physiotherapists make complex theories and philosophies more accessible. In her Reflections of a quantitative researcher on the CPN Salon, posted in July last year, Dina argued that the CPN risked functioning like a 'club' that excluded those who didn't subscribe to its principles. One of Dina's arguments at the time was that the CPN should build … [Read more...] about What should critical physiotherapy do for you?
Radical new ways to think about physiotherapy
The way we think about physiotherapy is overdue a radical shake-up. A couple of months ago, Charles Jennings wrote an interesting piece about the way our use of knowledge is changing, and these ideas have some important implications the way next generations of physiotherapists are learn their craft. Jennings' piece is titled 'Learning in the Collaboration Age' (link), and it focuses on the role collaboration is playing in learning. Jennings contrasts what he calls 'old' ways of acquiring knowledge (often characterised as 'knowing that'), with what is becoming increasingly common these days (knowing how, knowing why). Jennings argues that 'Although experiential and social learning … [Read more...] about Radical new ways to think about physiotherapy
