I had a lovely conversation with some colleagues from Tromsø University's School of Physiotherapy on Monday night after my keynote to the Norwegian Physiotherapists' Congress. Having talked about 'The End of Physiotherapy', they asked me a question I seem to be getting asked a lot now. "So" they said, "what's the answer ... what's the future for physiotherapy?" Now it's an absolutely foundational principle for me that it's not my place to tell people 'the answer' (as if there could ever be an answer). And that's partly because I subscribe to a Foucauldian approach to critical thinking that says you don't replace one bad hegemony (or dominant way of viewing the world) with another. But … [Read more...] about Leaving (physiotherapy) home
Physiotherapy and capitalism
Surely one of the most important projects of the next decade in physiotherapy must be to undertake a thoroughgoing critical analysis of our professional history. By this I mean how did we get to be a profession that looked so distinctly like 'this', and not something else. Perhaps one of the most important questions we need to ask is how has physiotherapy served The State - and how this will change as governments become smaller and push the responsibility for social welfare onto individuals. One of the most intriguing questions that, as far as I know, no-one has really studied, is the relationship between physiotherapy and capitalism. On first glance, it would be hard to see a … [Read more...] about Physiotherapy and capitalism
The politics of touch
Perhaps one of the biggest points of difference in current debates around the future of physiotherapy involves the question of whether physiotherapy should be evidence-based. It is self-evidence - so some say - that physiotherapy practice should be based on the best available evidence, since to practice otherwise might put people at risk, or damage the reputation of physiotherapy as a science. One of the less-well-often discussed issues with this argument is how much people - and by this I mean the public, our professional colleagues and peers, and the organisations that fund us and legislate for us - actually care whether some therapeutic practices are evidence-based. An article … [Read more...] about The politics of touch
The NHS in crisis
Firstly, a very happy New Year to you one and all. Here's hoping you had a restful and peaceful break and you are looking forward to happy and rewarding 2017. The New Year has unfortunately arrived with the latest saga in the slow exsanguination of the UK's National Health Service. Over the last few days, the Red Cross - an entirely apolitical organisation it should be remembered - has announced that the public healthcare system in the UK is experiencing a "humanitarian crisis" (link), a comment fully endorsed by the British Medical Association but fiercely rejected by Prime Minister Theresa May (link). Whilst it would be wrong to put all the blame for the current crisis on the … [Read more...] about The NHS in crisis
Ralph Hammond – The theory of communicative action – 30DoS #7
If you are new to the CPN or this 30 Day of September campaign, we run a month of daily posts on a different topic each year. This year we are focusing on ideas, articles, books, films, etc., that have inspired members of the Network. There will be a different post from a different CPN member each day until the end of the month. In this post, longtime CPN member, researcher and lecturer Ralph Hammond talks about Jurgen Habermas's book The theory of communicative action. Spanish translation provided by CPN Exec member Alma Viviana Silva. The Theory of Communicative Action (1984) addresses social action, intersubjective communication and social change. It tries to preserve the … [Read more...] about Ralph Hammond – The theory of communicative action – 30DoS #7
Interesting outcome
A quick quiz... What do these outcomes measures have in common? The Step Activity Monitor (SAM) Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) Fatigue Scale The Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke (PASS) And the Hierarchical Assessment of Balance and Mobility (HABAM) Yes, they do all suffer from the same urge to give every outcomes measure an acronyms. (Although it has to be said that the people who invented the Physiotherapy Functional Mobility Profile Questionnaire (PFMP-Q), had no desire to give their outcome measure a memorable name or acronym). But that's not the right answer. The answer is that they are all outcome measures developed in the last 20 years that are widely … [Read more...] about Interesting outcome
New: humanities
Although it’s going to be hard to accept, particularly by those people currently striving to make a difference in the profession, but it probably won’t be this generation of physiotherapists that bring about the radical change necessary to prepare the profession for the new world of 21st century health care. There are any number of reasons for this: Physiotherapists are, by and large, a relatively conservative bunch, who don’t instigate radical change Physiotherapy is highly respected and well patronised, so there are few indicators that we need to change much Most people in positions of authority have received a traditional training, and tend to like things the way that they are, … [Read more...] about New: humanities