Survey on physical therapy students’ experiences of prosthetics and orthotics in long-term clinical training

Abstract

The selection and recommendation of appropriate prosthetics and orthotics (PO) in physical therapy is recommended in guidelines and is considered to be an important component of this medical speciality. However, although there is a high awareness of the importance, there are reports of insufficient pre-graduate education on PO. The aim of this study was to identify the experiences of physiotherapy students in long-term clinical practice with prosthetics and the knowledge they felt they needed to acquire prior to practice. The target group consisted of 75 students from the physical therapy department, who answered questions via their personal electronic terminals. The content of the survey included a breakdown of the practical training facilities, whether they had experience with PO, the PO they had experienced, what they had been briefed on, what they had experienced and the knowledge they thought they needed before practical training. The survey showed that approximately 80％ of students had experienced PO during their practical training. The results showed that most of the involvement centered on fitting and orthotic gait assessment, suggesting that students tended to reflect on their knowledge of basic areas through experience. There is a need to provide information to students prior to practical training and incorporate this as a measure in the future.