Analysis of physiotherapy students’ opinions on curricula in university-level schools of different educational orientations

Dariusz Białoszewski, Joanna Gotlib, Anna Cabak, Katarzyna Barczyk, Andrzej Bugajski, Wojciech Kułak, Piotr Majcher, Olga Nowotny-Czupryna, Maciej Płaszewski, Janusz Sierdziński

Dariusz Białoszewski, Joanna Gotlib, Anna Cabak, Katarzyna Barczyk, Andrzej Bugajski, Wojciech Kułak, Piotr Majcher, Olga Nowotny-Czupryna, Maciej Płaszewski, Janusz Sierdziński – Analysis of physiotherapy students’ opinions on curricula in university-level schools of different educational orientations. Fizjoterapia Polska 2010; 10(2); 136-148

Abstract
Introduction and Objective. Physiotherapy as a university degree programme was first offered in Poland in 1997, with courses including 3-year Bachelor-level and 2-year Master-level programmes. The education of physiotherapists in Poland currently takes place at three types of university-level schools: medical universities (MS), universities of physical education (PE) and university-level schools of orientations not connected with medicine or physical education (OU).This study aims to analyse and compare opinions of MS, PE and OU students on the curricula offered by the three types of university-level schools. Material and methods. The study involved a total of 593 students in their third year of Bachelor programme studies from 10 university-level schools of different educational orientations. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous involved completing a questionnaire distributed in March and April 2009. The questionnaire, designed by the authors, consisted of 4 parts and contained a total of 88 questions. The statistical analysis of the survey data (STATISTICA 9.0) was conducted using the Kruskall-Wallis test. Results. The majority of MS students believed the amount of practical classes was appropriate, while PE and OU participants assessed it as insufficient (p=NS). The MS students were satisfied with the amount of time of working directly with patients during clinical classes, while their PE and OU counterparts found the time insufficient. The largest number of MS, PE and OU participants declared that training in special techniques in physiotherapy was insufficient (p=NS). Conclusions. 1. It would be advisable to combine the clinical experience of medical universities with the facilities and teaching staff of specialists in physiotherapy-related courses available in universities of physical education in order to improve the quality of physiotherapy education in Poland.2. In view of the current level of research in physiotherapy, it seems important to provide students with high quality training in state-of-the-art physiotherapy techniques.
Key words:
physiotherapy, students, Bachelor-degree programmes, medical universities, universities of physical education
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