Post-registration Education Master Plan Update on Developments

We are sure members have been wondering what has happened as a result The view was that:

of the consultation which followed the publication of the Post-registration Education Master Plan in January 1988. The answer is that a good deal of thought and debate has ensued and the Education Committee is now in a position to share its proposals with you. This paper sets out the majority views on the Post- registration Education Master Plan published by Angie Titchen in 1988. It then offers a simplified plan and indicates the action the Education Committee is

The Plan was worth developing as it

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The plan needed to be simplified; its presented format was complex for many to understand and the emphasis on the academic aspects too great,

proposing in order to achieve it.

1988 Post-registration Master Plan - Members‘ Feedback Questionnaires were sent to every CSP

Board, Branch, Clinical Interest and Encouragement for clinical evaluation in Occupational Group asking for their consensus view on the Master Plan. A great

Area B - Research Programmes

the workplace was required,

diversity of views were given. Some members found the plan di f f icul t t o understand. Overall it was enthusiastically welcomed but wi th many ’ifs‘ and ’buts’ relating mainly t o the feasibil i ty of implementation in today‘s financial climate. The majority views could be summarised as follows:

Area A - Higher Degrees There should be more validated courses

at level 1 and level 2, both in number and in range, and duplicated across the country wi th the possibility of credit rating.

Clinical Interest Groups should be involved in development of levels and types of courses to be included in the plan.

Area C - AcademiclClinical Experience - Specialisation Process

Clinical experience should be recognised and this area should be promoted.

Area D - Experiential

A most enthusiastic welcome was given to the development of possibilities in this area.

Area E - Continuing Education This was also enthusiastically welcomed,

especially the development of distance learning packages.

0 A n education network with regional co- ordinators should be established. Regional centres could be established in schools of physiotherapy within institutes of higher education.

0 Although all areas of the plan were considered important and necessary to develop, priority was given, in descending order, to:

1. New entrants programme. 2. Area E - Continuing education area. 3. Accessible programmes for re-entrants. 4. Development of common core modules. 5. Area D - Recognition of experiential learning. Guide lines on the preparation of portfolios and by whom and how the assessment would be done must be developed. 6. Area C - Specialisation process.

Considerable discussion and debate has taken place in committees and other fora on where the Society’s priorities should lie in the development of physiotherapy education. This culminated in a lengthy discussion at the Education Committee in July 1989 when the following modified plan was debated (see also diagram).

Stage A - Pre-registration Education This consists of three or four years full-

time education at a recognised training establishment on completion of which the newly qualified physiotherapist may register w i th GradDipPhys, BSc or BSclHons). This stage of training wil l provide:

0 Foundat ion studies, eg anatomy, physiology, biomechanics.

0 Physiotherapy studies, eg c l in ical sciences, core skills, clinical education.

0 Common core studies, eg com- munication. research, teaching skills.

0 Study skills, eg self-directed learning, literature search and review.

All these aspects are essential for successful post-registration and continuing education.

Regular review of the pre-registration curriculum is important i f the init ial education is to keep pace with development. For successful post-registration education it is essential tha t t he pre-registration curriculum is studied carefully to: (i) Identify any specialist area not introduced at this stage. (ii) Identify any therapeutic skills not included to any depth at this stage. Post-registration Education Master Plan (simplified version)

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This information will provide a focus of attention for the development of these areas and skills in post-registration courses.

It has been agreed to ask the curriculum review group to identify skills to be introduced andfor developed at post- qualification level.

Stage B - Two Years Post-qualification Education

Normally registration will be followed by a two-year period of rotational experience before promotion to a senior II level. Much of the learning at this stage should be experiential. This can be defined as learning achieved through 'doing' rather than by attendance on courses. The clinical experience should be planned w i th objectives, attainments achieved at the end of each rotation and appraisal by the senior manager.

The physiotherapist should keep a portfolio of this experience and attainments including details of in-service education programmes, involvement with Board and Branch activities, and any self-directed study undertaken in his/her own time.

Towards the end of this two-year period the physiotherapist could become involved in the recognised courses and common core courses of stage C.

The Education Committee, in collaboration with the Professional Practice Committee, produced 'Guide Line 4: Guide lines for good practice for new entrants to physiotherapy'. At present, this is only suggested good practice, but it might be developed as a necessary requirement by Districts leading to accreditation of Districts/departments as suitable venues for the newly qualified. Progress on this may be partly determined by the future of the National Health Service. In the meantime the Association of District and Superintendent Chartered Physiother- apists has agreed to produce an information pack illustrating different models of good practice relating to in-service training. This could be backed up by CSP workshops on teaching and facilitating skills for the staff who are expected to deliver in-service training.

Stage C - Post-registration and Continuing Education

This stage should provide a wide range of educational opportunities from which physiotherapists can plan their own professional development. The scheme developed must be flexible to allow various options because of the various qualifications of new entrants to the profession and those who have previously qualified without the opportunity for degree qualification. It must also allow for those who wish to pursue professional studies and are not interested in obtaining further academic qualifications and for those returning to practice after a career break.

In addition, academic and professional development should reflect service needs as well as those of the professional. The educational opportunities consist of five elements:

(a) Experiential learning. (b) Common core courses. (c) Recognised courses. (d) Validated courses. (el Higher academic awards.

Experiential Learning - This should be a development of Stage 13 to include a wider range o f experiences, eg overseas exper- ience, work in the private sector, clinical experience, professional involvement.

At senior II level, some will have further rotational experience with objectives, attainments and appraisals to add to their portfolio. Others may be allocated to a particular unit with regular appraisals and should continue to list attainments and other details for the portfolio. Most of this experience will probably fall mainly, but not exclusively, into CNAA levels I and II in the CNAA Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme.

The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) is developing this area and should be producing guide lines for structuring portfolios shortly. However, it is likely that these will be too general for use by physiotherapists and so the CSP continuing education officer is currently researching the various awarding bodies who give academic recognition to portfolios with a view to drawing up custom-made guide lines for piloting in 1990.

Common Core Courses - These have been identified as Communication, Counselling, Teaching skills, Management, Research and Study skills.

Essentially, the courses should be multi- disciplinary. Available at both national and local level, the courses should be provided in collaboration with the Health Pickup Scheme and other PAM groups. The continuing education officer is currently investigating the availability of courses nationally/regionally covering the topics of communication, counselling, teaching skills and management. Once this information has been collated it will be entered on a database at CSP headquarters and will be readily available to members on request.

The research liaison officer has been asked to draw up a programme of one-day courses aimed at facilitating research. It is thought these will include research appreci- ation days for members who qualified before research was part of the curriculum, with an emphasis on the importance of evaluation of clinical practice, and assistance for members wanting to write up research and evaluation projects/findings. Information is also being collected on research method- ology courses available in institutions nationwide.

In addition, it is intended to set up a nationwide network of mentors to support members in research.

The research liaison officer will also be producing a guide line on study skills.

Recognised Courses - These courses should be for a specific area o f knowledgel skills and should be distinct from the validated courses.

Such courses should be required to meet minimum criteria for recognition, ie course teams will not be expected to submit vast tomes to the post-registration validation panel. These should form the bulk of the courses provided at both national, regional and local level.

Validated Courses - These courses should not be for a specific area of knowledge/skills but designed to help the physiotherapist evaluate practice in a specific specialty.

Such courses should be required to meet

specific criteria for validation and should be relatively few in number compared to the recognised courses. The courses should be linked to higher education establishments already involved wi th pre-registration education and level 111 of the CNAA Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme will be the minimum standard. The style of presentation and learning should allow for the courses to be available nationally and annually. Different institutions will have the freedom to develop their own 'flavour' to the courses in particular specialties, allowing them to reflect local expertise. The Education Committee has set up a short-life working party to identify the specialties for which the validated course scheme can be developed and to discuss a suitable strategy for existing validated courses.

Higher Academic Awards By September 7989 almost half the pre- registration courses will be either 3-year unclassified degree or 3/4-year honours degree courses. The question of appropriate higher awards needs to addressed now.

First Degree/Top-up Degree Provision at this level is taken care of by

many CNAA first degree courses, Open University and the CNAA CATS initiatives. This level of degree is appropriate for physiotherapists with a GradDipPhys. Although many institutions recognise the GradDipPhys plus a minimum number of years work experience as sufficient qualification for direct entry to a Master's degree, not all find the diploma ac.ceptable and require physiotherapists to undertake a qualifying course or a literature review.

Higher Diploma These are generalist and specialist

postgraduate diplomas awarded by a university or the CNAA and validated by the CSP.

The CATS scheme offers a Postgraduate Diploma award in which the student must achieve 70 credit points, gained at level M. Although this scheme is in the early stages of development, a report of the CATSCAPAM is expected shortly. If this suggests further development then progress could be made on postgraduate diploma awards and a number of institutions with pre-registration physiotherapy courses are keen to develop courses at this level.

Master's Degrees With the increasing number of graduate

physiotherapists entering the profession, Master's degree programmes are becoming increasingly important. The CATS scheme offers a Master's degree award in which the student must achieve 120 credit points at level M. In addition to the large number of Master's degree courses already open to physiotherapists, it is likely that another route to a Master's will be through a dissertation following successful completion of a postgraduate diploma.

Ph D An increasing number of physiotherapists

are registering for MPhil and PhD. They usually require a good honours degree, higher degree or evidence of research experience. However, experienced clinicians have enrolled directly through personal

520 physiotherapy, September 1989, vol75, no 9

merit. PhDs should be particularly encour- aged in view of moves of schools into higher education. Guidance on how to register is available from the CSP Education Department.

fellowships Council has recently set up a working

party to review the Society's Fellowship award. I t may be tha t a member 's experiential portfolio could be used to gain a Fellowship.

Distance Learning Packages The development of distance learning

packages and tutor systems was enthusi- astically welcomed in the Master Plan response. It does provide an important method of study and pre-course preparation

and makes courses more available nationally and minimises the number of days away froin the work situation. However, the pro- duction of such packages is very complex, time-consuming and expensive, and the committee has therefore agreed that the Society should encourage institutions to produce such material, not the CSP itself.

Re-entrants to Physiotherapy The need to create more favourable

conditions for members wishing to return to practice after a career break and retaining staff following maternity leave is fully recog- nised. A guide line for both returners and managers has been produced, setting out what is reasonable to expect of each party and ways in which this can be achieved.

All the elements in stage C (Post-

registration and continuing education) should be interlinked, for example, the recognised courseslcommon core courses should be acknowledged as entry to val idated courses: t he val idated coursesiexperiential learning should carry accreditation points towards the higher academic awards.

The Education Committee would value comments on any aspect of this Post-registration Education Master Plan. Please address them, in writing, to Jenny Carey in the Education Department, CSP, 14 Bedford Row, London WClR 4ED.

student briefing Report from Annual Student Delegate Conference Student delegates elected from each school of physiotheapy are annually invited to attend their national conference. The conference serves to stimulate and inform the student delegates in matters affecting them as members of the CSP and as students. A brief report of this year's conference is outlined below. Students wishing to find out more should contact their CSP student delegate within their school or they can contact Rachel Pitkeathley, students officer at the CSP.

On the weekend of June 16-17, the third Student Delegate Conference funded by the Society was held at Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham. The conference was hosted by the local schools of physiotherapy who kindly provided accommodation for students attending as well as an all- important social event on the Friday evening.

Twenty schools were represented by a total of 3 6 elected student delegates at the conference, and in addition, as well as CSP staff, the following guests attended the conference:

Miss Val Steele, president, Students Board; Mrs Sheila Philbrook, chairman, CSPCouncil; Vlrs Kath Jenkins, physiotherapy officer, 3epartment of Health.

The conference consisted of a number of workshops and discussion groups led by Society staff and selected students. The workshops and discussion groups covered the subjects of campaigning, organising meetings, public speaking, s tudent representation, industr ia l relations, education and international affairs. Plenary sessions on both days of the conference provided opportunity for feedback from the discussion groups and workshops and the response suggested that both were well received.

In addition t o the workshops and discussion groups, the second day of the conference offered the opportunity for the delegates to question a guest panel on the NHS White Paper.

The panel comprised Mrs Philbrook and Mrs Jenkins both of whom had the previous

day had the opportunity of questioning Mr David Mellor MP.

The quest ion t ime was lively and informative and provided a useful forum for discussion of a subject which I am sure raises many questions throughout the profession.

The Saturday afternoon was totally given over to the third AGM of the Students Board. A t t he AGM the ret i r ing Execut ive Committee outlined the work in which it had been involved for the previous year and the activities of the student membership of the CSP nationally over the last 12 months.

The student delegates who attended the AGM outlined a number of policy objectives for the newly-elected Student Executive Committee members to work on for their term of service, which included:

1. The Executive Committee should attempt to improve the provision of membership cards.

2. The Executive should ask for opinions from regions about curriculum review and co-ordinate information together with papers to send physiotherapists on the Curriculum Review Group. 3. The Executive should ask the CSP to review student membership and set guide lines for further continuation.

4. The Executive should attempt to improve the speed w i th which membership leaflets and delegate packs reach the first year's students. September was proposed instead of December.

5. The Executive must look into the regis- tration fee for Scottish Schools and NELP.

6. The Executive must monitor the White Paper on what implications it might have for student training and clinical education.

7. To change the date of the Annual Student Delegate Conference to the spring.

Executive Committee 1989-90 The following students were elected at the

Annual Delegate Conference of the Students Board to serve on the Student Executive Committee for the next year:

Bernadette Conlon Brigid Duffy Adele Hunt John McLennan Ruth Sandy Ed Tallis Freddy Neilsen Manisha Shah Trevor Phillips

Student Council Members 1989-90 The t w o new student Council members

are Mr John McLennan and Miss Gina Stone. They were introduced to the student delegates at the conference, after being elected unopposed.

The student body regretted the lack of other nominations and hoped in future that there would be more interest. We extend our thanks to John and Gina for their interest and dedication which has motivated them to take up their posts.

Students Officer I t was announced t o the student

membership at the student conference that Chris Bond who had served as students officet at the CSP for the last t w o years was resigning. His loss to the Society wil l be sadly noted among the students but we are pleased to say that his replacement, Miss Rachel Pitkeathley, has now taken up her post and wil l be pleased t o answer any queries regarding student membership.

Lucy O'Driscoll

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