Development of a syllabus for postgraduate respiratory physiotherapy education: the Respiratory Physiotherapy HERMES project

Abstract

@ERSpublicationsThe Respiratory Physiotherapy HERMES project aims to standardise treatment of patients within and beyond Europe http://ow.ly/L1e72Best practice in the diagnosis and management of patients with respiratory conditions is now a multidisciplinary effort [1,2]. Physiotherapists engage in many aspects of the care of patients with respiratory diseases. Across a range of diseases, ages and settings, they carry out highly specialised treatments related to mucus clearance, breathing exercises, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, exercise training and rehabilitation, as well as reintegration of patients with respiratory disorders. Their tasks span from the neonatal intensive care unit to the palliative care unit of geriatric patients. Over the past decades, respiratory physiotherapists across the world have published research in all these fields feeding into the evidence base that underpins much of the care provided by these professionals. Physiotherapy practice has also evolved over the past few decades. Self-referral by service users ( patients) is now possible in approximately half of the European member states of the World Confederation on Physiotherapy [3]. This requires highly trained health professionals capable of assessing, treating, referring and reintegrating patients. In patients with respiratory conditions, this is often performed in the context of a multidisciplinary team.Physiotherapy education is not uniform across Europe and the world. Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have undergone significant reforms towards an academic educational track (MSc and PhD) over the past decades in many countries. In other countries, physiotherapy education is still largely geared

Respiratory physiotherapy education in Italy: per aspera ad astra

“…To the best of my knowledge, this is unusual in many European countries, also considering that physiotherapy education is not uniform across Europe [3]. For example, according to the national collective agreement for physiotherapists, time to be dedicated to research equals zero.…”

Solunum fizyoterapisinde özelleşme: hermes projesi

“…The substantial variation of physiotherapy education and respiratory specialization education in Europe and all over the world (2), and its resultant effects, namely difficulty in mobility and formal recognition of specialization, lead to a need for the harmonization of respiratory physiotherapy education (2,3). For this aim, ERS Physiotherapy Group initiated a HER-MES Project entitled "Harmonization of Respiratory Physiotherapy Education".…”

“…Fizyoterapi eğitiminin ve solunum fizyoterapi özel-leşme eğitiminin Avrupa'da ve dünyada önemli öl-çüde çeşitlilik göstermesi (2), bu durumun solunum fizyoterapistlerinin hareketliliğini ve özelleşmenin resmi olarak tanınırlığını engellemesi, solunum fizyoterapi eğitiminin uyumlandırılmasına olan ihtiyacı gündeme getirmiştir (2,3). Bu amaçla, ERS bünyesinde yer alan Fizyoterapi Grubu, "Solunum Fizyoterapi Eğitiminin Uyumlandırılması" konulu bir HERMES projesi başlatmıştır.…”

“…Bu amaçla, erişkin ve pediatrik solunum fizyoterapisi alt rotalarına ait modüllerdeki her özel alt madde için, öğrenme çık-tısı, bilgi, beceri ve tutumlar yazılmaktadır. Şimdiye kadar yapılan çalışmaların genel özeti yayınlanma aşamasındadır (3). HERMES projesinin ileri aşama-larında öğrenme çıktılarının değerlendirilmesi ile ilgili süreçlerin çalışılması planlanmaktadır.…”

Living well with a chronic respiratory disease

“…The curriculum contains recommendations for minimum clinical exposure and lists learning outcomes, forms of learning and resources, and methods of assessing knowledge and skills. This work builds on the core syllabus for postgraduate training in respiratory physiotherapy, part of the Harmonised Education and Training in Respiratory Medicine for European specialists (HERMES) initiative [8].…”