Each day over the next week I'll post up an abstract for a paper being presented by a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network at the In Sickness and In Health conference in Mallorca in June 2015. (You can find more information on the conference here.) The Experience of Practice-Based Educators: Supporting Disabled Physiotherapy Students By Karen Atkinson In the UK we have a substantial history of disabled people entering the physiotherapy profession. The most well-known group is probably those who have visual impairments. Over the last 20 years, however, the picture has changed with more students and graduate physiotherapists who are, for example, users of mental health services, … [Read more...] about The Experience of Practice-Based Educators: Supporting Disabled Physiotherapy Students
An uncertain future for disabled physiotherapy students?
Karen Atkinson's comment on the "Opening doors to disability' blogpost a few days ago (link) really struck a cord with me coming at a time when there are some odd things happening in the profession. Physiotherapy has always had a difficult relationship with disability. While this sounds an odd thing to say, think about how few disabled people are practitioners. Then step out of yourself as a physiotherapist and imagine how this might be perceived by the disabled community. Physiotherapists, it seems, are quite happy being the practitioners, but not so happy enabling disabled people to become therapists. … [Read more...] about An uncertain future for disabled physiotherapy students?
Opening doors to disability
I've been in Wellington for the last three days exploring the archives to find any trace of physical therapy activity in New Zealand in the 19th century. So far it's been a frustrating search. While I've been down here, I've been having some interesting discussions with people about disabled physiotherapy students. We have just graduated our first tetraplegic physiotherapist and I've been in discussion with our regulatory authority about the conditions for their license to practice. So this article sent to me by CPN member Anne Hudon came at a very convenient time. Thanks Anne. Across the country, people with disabilities are redefining the possible by excelling in scholarly … [Read more...] about Opening doors to disability
Idea 11: Develop study materials for our students (2 mins)
Every day during September we will post up an idea for you to vote on. The most popular ideas will become the things that the inaugural Organizing Committee of the Critical Physiotherapy Network focuses on in 2015. So please make sure you cast your vote at the bottom of each post. One of the most common messages I've read over the last 2 months from people who have emailed me about the group, has been about the need to connect with people out in the wider physio community who might be able to offer their help and expertise. Be it graduate students looking for someone with methodology or philosophy expertise, or researchers/writers looking for collaborators for future projects, it … [Read more...] about Idea 11: Develop study materials for our students (2 mins)
Idea 3: A critical curriculum for physiotherapy schools (2 mins)
Every day during September we will post up an idea for you to vote on. The most popular ideas will become the things that the inaugural Organizing Committee of the Critical Physiotherapy Network focuses on in 2015. So please make sure you cast your vote at the bottom of each post. Physiotherapists like to treat the body-as-machine. They like quantitative research, clinical skills and definitional clarity, and they've held on to their biomedical principles through good times and bad. In some ways, this is understandable. Without an alternative curriculum to work from, how are people schooled in biological determinism going to know which direction to take their curriculum in? And … [Read more...] about Idea 3: A critical curriculum for physiotherapy schools (2 mins)