Australia - Historic increase in clinical placements for physiotherapists

Citation

(2011), "Australia - Historic increase in clinical placements for physiotherapists", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 24 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2011.06224bab.004

Australia - Historic increase in clinical placements for physiotherapists

Article Type: News and views From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 24, Issue 2

Keywords: Physiotherapy clinical training programmes, Clinical education, Quality improvement

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) has congratulated the Australian Government on the announcement of a significant boost in funding for physiotherapy clinical training.

APA Vice President, Melissa Locke stated “This historic investment in physiotherapy education will provide in excess of 115,000 additional clinical training days for entry level physiotherapists”.

“Physiotherapists need to be work ready on graduation and therefore it is critical that they complete an appropriate level of clinical education” stated Ms Locke.

Universities have increasingly found it more challenging to provide an adequate level of clinical training for their students. This is because the number of physiotherapy courses in Australia has more than doubled over the last decade – without an equivalent matching of funding for clinical placements.

The APA has been at the forefront of discussions with the Federal Government for some time over the provision of clinical education for physiotherapy students.

This funding will enable a greater number of physiotherapy students to gain experience across a range of practice settings including rural and remote hospitals, private practice, paediatric services, indigenous health services and aged care facilities. There will be flow on benefit these communities as physiotherapy graduates who have undertaken a clinical placement in a rural setting will be more likely to take up employment positions in these areas.

Ms Locke, when emphasising the quality of physiotherapy education in Australia, stated “It is only through substantial investment in clinical education that we can continue to train a high standard of physiotherapy graduates. This funding is a significant investment in Australia’s future health workforce”.

For more information: www.aushealthcare.com.au