0000000000136856
AUTHOR
Merja Kurunsaari
Stories of professional development in physiotherapy education
This study examines graduating physiotherapy students’ narratives related to their professional development. The data comprised interviews with 33 graduating physiotherapy students. The data were analyzed using the narrative analysis approach. As a result, five different story models were identified. The descriptive story models were named: 1) “Study path dominated by life changes”; 2) “Realizing the connection between physiotherapy theory and practice”; 3) “Self-regulated and practical-oriented learning path”; 4) “Becoming a critical developer”; and 5) “Multiprofessional working towards expertise”. In students’ stories, there appeared different turning points that illustrated especially me…
Students’ Experiences of Reflective Writing as a Tool for Learning in Physiotherapy Education
The purpose of this study was to examine physiotherapy students’ experiences of reflective writing. The students (n = 32) were asked to video record their practical activities at school and at workplaces, and to write reflective journals on their experiences. The research data about students’ experiences of reflective writing were collected by interviewing the students. The data were analyzed phenomenographically. The findings revealed four qualitatively different experiences of reflective writing: 1) writing as a useless task; 2) writing as a tool for deepening understanding; 3) writing as a tool for self-reflection; and 4) writing as a tool for professional development. These categories d…
Stories of professional development in physiotherapy education
This study examines graduating physiotherapy students' narratives related to their professional development. The data comprised interviews with 33 graduating physiotherapy students. The data were analyzed using the narrative analysis approach. As a result, five different story models were identified. The descriptive story models were named: 1) "Study path dominated by life changes"; 2) "Realizing the connection between physiotherapy theory and practice"; 3) "Self-regulated and practical-oriented learning path"; 4) "Becoming a critical developer"; and 5) "Multiprofessional working towards expertise". In students' stories, there appeared different turning points that illustrated especially me…
Students’ experiences of reflective writing in physiotherapy education
band through the big fingers and the first toes and instructed them to extend the band as much as possible (band exercise). Each exercise was to be performed on alternate days. Before exrcise, we obtained MR imaging using Achieva 3.0T MRI (Philips Medical Systems, Best, Netherland). The imaging technique was T2 star (repetition time, 500ms; echo time, 0.703ms; field-of-view, 480mm). After scanning, participants performed each exercise in the MRI machine. For a duration of 5min, each exercise was performed at an interval of 10 s; MRI was conducted immediately after exercise. The OsiriX imaging software was used for analysis, and we circled region of interest (ROI) multifidus muscles and the …
Physiotherapy students’ conceptions of skill at the beginning of their Bachelor studies
Skills have recently received widespread attention in education policy documents and discussions. This article reports the results of research on Bachelor’s degree physiotherapy students’ conceptions of skill at the beginning of their studies. The aim of the present study was to examine how beginning students understand skill, and the focus was on conceptions of skill in general rather than on any particular skills. The participants of the study were 35 physiotherapy students. The data were gathered within the first two weeks of their university studies. Specifically, requested essays written by the students were analyzed using the phenomenographic approach. The data-driven analysis yielded…
Graduating Physiotherapy Students’ Conceptions of their own Competence
A competence-oriented approach has recently emerged in higher education and thus far, not much attention has been paid to how “competence” itself is understood in education. The purpose of this study was to examine how graduating physiotherapy students perceive their competence at the end of their studies. The data comprised interviews with 33 graduating physiotherapy students. The data were analysed with the phenomenographic approach. The findings indicated that graduating students had different and wide-ranging conceptions of what competence in physiotherapy entails and what their own competence covers. The descriptive categories – mastering core skills, understanding the theoretical basi…
Perspectives on physiotherapy students' professional competence development during their education
The aim of this dissertation was to investigate, from different perspectives, how physiotherapy students understand and experience their competence and its development during their education. The research focused on the whole study path of students (n=35) from the very beginning of their studies to their graduation. The data, essays and open interviews, were analysed using phenomenographic analysis and narrative analysis approaches. The purpose was to identify the various ways in which beginning physiotherapy students understand the conceptions of skill, to describe graduating students’ experiences of reflective writing as a tool for learning, to identify students’ conceptions of their comp…