I´m tired of being tired - Fatigue as experienced by women with fibromyalgia

AbstractThe aim of the study was to explore how fatigue was experienced and explained in life stories of women with a long history of fibromyalgia to gain a deeper understanding of fatigue as a phenomenon. The data was drawn from the narrative interviews of 20 purposively chosen women with fibromyalgia. In the analysis, the ideas of episodic reading and paradigmatic analysis of narratives were used to find recurrent and repeated experiences of fatigue from the data. Five main themes emerged from the data: sleepless nights, physical weakness, loss of mental energy, social withdrawal and overwhelming exhaustion. The narratives indicated that in fibromyalgia, fatigue is a transient, extreme an…

Nyt olisi pysähtymisen paikka : fysioterapian opettajien työhön liittyviä kokemuksia terveysalan ammatillisessa koulutuksessa

Problem-based learning at the beginning of professional studies – physiotherapy students point of view

Problem-Based Learning in Professional Studies from the Physiotherapy Students’ Perspective

The aim of the study was to investigate how physiotherapy students using a problem-based learning approach develop into experts during higher education, and answers the question: How do physiotherapy students at bachelor’s level understand the problem-based learning approach while learning to become professionals? PBL is examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of longitudinal data written by 15 voluntary students from two different higher education institutions and collected during 3.5 years. The main results on the new way of learning strengthen earlier conceptions of the importance of reflection in the learning process. The PBL method activates a reflection process b…

Practical work in physiotherapy students’ professional development

Learning practical work through cooperation between school and working life is part of physiotherapy higher education. Students learn practical work through the integration of theoretical, practical, tacit and situational knowledge in a socialization process. Workplace practices and habits direct students’ learning. This study answers the question: What kind of conceptions of learning practical work do physiotherapy students have? Longitudinal data written by 21 volunteer students (mean age 25 years) was collected over three and a half years. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Learning practical work proceeds in five phases: (1) the basis of practical work, human movement and a…

Fatigue, Worry, and Fear—Life Events in the Narratives of Women With Fibromyalgia

In this article we explored narrated life stories of 20 women with a long history of fibromyalgia to reach a deeper understanding of how people interpret the causes and consequences of different life events and illness experiences. Based on narrative analysis, we identified three model narratives that illustrate the different life courses of women with fibromyalgia. In addition, we described a counternarrative that questions fibromyalgia as a chronic disease. In this narrative study, we give insights to the invisible symptoms and unheard experiences that are associated with fibromyalgia and to the ongoing discussion on the etiology and maintenance of fibromyalgia.

The story models of physiotherapy students’ professional development. Narrative research

The aim of this article is to investigate students’ narratives about their professional development process. This research brings new kind of knowledge to continuing learning, developing education and planning the curriculum in physiotherapy education. The European Qualification Framework (EQF) defines learning competences in education; qualitative research has a narrative approach. The material consists of eight voluntarily participating physiotherapy students’ portfolios written during their whole study time. The longitudinal data describes them as learners and their development process. The major findings are four main episodes in professional development: the previous studies, a new way…

Finally heard, believed and accepted – Peer support in the narratives of women with fibromyalgia

Abstract Objective The aim of the present study was to analyse how experiences of peer support were described and reflected upon several years after a group rehabilitation intervention. Moreover, we wanted to learn more about what meanings were ascribed to peer support in the narratives of women with a long history of fibromyalgia. Method This was a qualitative study in which narrative life story interviews of 20 women with fibromyalgia were collected and analysed to elicit the impact of peer support in their lives. Results We identified four main domains of experienced peer support; permission to talk, need of information, reciprocity and self-evaluation through comparison. The meanings as…