New-graduate physiotherapists' perceptions of their preparedness for rural practice.

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia Country of Publication: Australia NLM ID: 9305903 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1440-1584 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10385282 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Aust J Rural Health

Publication: Amidale : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
Original Publication: Armidale : Association for Australian Rural Nurses, c1992-

Attitude of Health Personnel* ; Clinical Competence* ; Physical Therapists* ; Rural Health Services*; Humans ; Perception ; Queensland ; Rural Population

Objective: Providing health care in a rural or remote setting requires physiotherapists to adapt to a number of unique challenges. New-graduates working in rural or remote settings must respond to these challenges in addition to those of being a novice practitioner. This study investigated the perceived preparedness of new-graduate physiotherapists for work in rural or remote settings.
Design: A qualitative general inductive approach.
Setting: Rural and remote Queensland.
Participants: New-graduate physiotherapists   working in rural or remote locations were contacted via a snowballing recruitment strategy.
Main Outcome Measure: Semi-structured interviews.
Results: Four key themes emerged from the data: (a) adjusting to rural life, (b) embracing opportunities, (c) stepping up to the plate and (d) preparing through authentic experiences.
Conclusion: New-graduate physiotherapists perceived rural and remote practice to be a challenging but valuable opportunity with many social and professional rewards. The complex clinical demands and unique cultural factors inherent in rural and remote locations were experienced as additional obstacles to the transition from student to clinician. New-graduate physiotherapists were satisfied that their entry-level training provided the necessary skills required to practise rurally and remotely; however, they expressed 'shock' at the rapid adaptations needed to provide effective service in these settings. New-graduates are confident that exposure to authentic rural and remote clinical practice during their training was integral to their preparedness.
(© 2020 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.)

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Keywords: allied health; curriculum development; interviews; qualitative; rural workforce

Date Created: 20200928 Date Completed: 20211008 Latest Revision: 20211008

20231215

10.1111/ajr.12669

32985085