There has been a move in education for a number of years now that has focused on what Jan Meyer and Ray Land call Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge (Meyer and Land, 2006). These are ideas that students really struggle to grasp. We've all experienced it. For me it was mathematical formulae. I could never understand why it was that the maths teachers stepped through equations the way that they did. I didn't know the rules and they did an appalling job of explaining them to me. I fumbled around trying to make sense of my ignorance before giving up. But the fact that I've never forgotten this, and keep returning to it is a telling point. Meyer and Land argue that these … [Read more...] about Why a grand vision might be bad for your practice (and your soul)
Member Profile: Pia Kontos
From time to time we profile a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network to find out more about them and their work. In this profile we talk to Pia Kontos who is a Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, at the University of Toronto, Canada. Pia is one of our non-physiotherapist members whose work closely aligns with the goals of the CPN. She is a prolific and creative researcher who uses critical social theory and arts-based approaches to examine and address the norms and assumptions underpinning care practices in long-term care and rehabilitation settings. We asked Pia to tell us more about her … [Read more...] about Member Profile: Pia Kontos
New: Significance
Physiotherapists are, by reputation, quite practical, pragmatic, literal people who are generally modest about their work and conservative in their approach to practice. You can see this in the books, journal articles and promotional work that was undertaken by the profession in the 20th century. In recent years, we have learnt that we need to be better at self promotion, but many find this quite challenging. We are not brash, and we don't like to strut. But one aspect of our work has suffered as a result, and it may hold an important clue to the way physiotherapy may need to change in the future. Physiotherapy is transformative. We know this from the millions of patients who, … [Read more...] about New: Significance
New: Reflection
There's a phrase that I've come to use over and over again in recent years whenever I've presented at conferences or talked to people about the research I do, and I use it because it beautifully encapsulates what I think is perhaps the main problem now facing the physiotherapy profession. It comes from a book written by a New Zealand doctor who is part European and part Māori. His name is Glenn Colquhoun, and he's written some fantastic books about health care, using poetry and prose to express his ideas (see this link to his work). In one slim volume titled 'Jumping Ship,' Colquhoun describes his experience coming to terms with his Māori heritage. He spent a few years in the far … [Read more...] about New: Reflection
New: Truths
One of the inescapable realities of modern life, or should that be post-modern life, is that we have all become skeptical of authority figures that want to tell us that they know the answers, and that we should follow them compliantly, passively and unquestioningly. There once was a time when people genuinely believed that the church, judges, the police, school teachers, parents, doctors and other authority figures genuinely knew best, but our trust in these authorities has been eroded by scandals, self interest and injurious practices. And while some of us yearn for a simpler time when the world was black and white, we can’t erase the image of child abuse by Catholic priests, medical … [Read more...] about New: Truths
New: Stories
For reasons I've never really understood, physiotherapists seem really reluctant to tell their work stories. I'm not talking about the conversations we've all had with our partners, families and friends about interesting clinical problems we've faced or patients we've treated, but rather the kinds of things that give us pause to reflect on what we're doing, or make us think that there's a lesson here that others could share in. A long time ago, doctors, midwives, nurses and psychologists recognised the value of stories, giving birth to the whole idea of narrative-based medicine and the medical humanities. But physiotherapists have been slow on the uptake. The latest edition of the … [Read more...] about New: Stories
Decolonizing health professional education
A new paper from Mershen Pillay (CPN member) and Harsha Kathard titled Decolonizing health professional education has just been published by the African Journal of Rhetoric. The paper explores how higher education practice is failing the majority population in South Africa, and offers some critical insights into the nature of 'othering' that is prevalent in many health education programmes around the world. Abstract We argue that there is an urgent need to transform how we educate health professionals in South Africa. We focus on Audiology and Speech-Language Therapy, which are health professions that manage people with communication disorders and swallowing difficulties. Our … [Read more...] about Decolonizing health professional education