Physiotherapy students' sources of stress, perceived course difficulty, and paid employment: Comparison between Western Australia and United Kingdom

Abstract

Physiotherapy education is changing, and educators are increasingly concerned about the levels of stress observed in students. Considerable research has investigated stressors in medical and nursing students; however, studies of physiotherapy students were conducted more than a decade ago. This study examined the sources of stress, perceived course difficulty, and hours of paid employment in undergraduate physiotherapy students in Western Australia (WA) and the United Kingdom (UK). The Undergraduate Sources of Stress questionnaire was administered to students in all years of Bachelor of Science (Physiotherapy) programs (n = 249 WA; n = 161 UK) and a Master of Physiotherapy (graduate entry) program (n = 24 WA) with an overall response rate of 70%. Academic concerns were rated highest for all students, particularly the amount to learn, time demands of the course, and conflict with other activities. The course was perceived to be more difficult than expected by 71% of students. Although the mean (SD) hours per week worked in paid employment by WA and UK students is 12.52 (13.90) and 7.16 (4.02), respectively, there was no correlation between any stress subscale and number of hours worked. Reducing the amount of content and revision of the outcomes of physiotherapy curricula could potentially reduce academic stress.

OT student's experiences of stress and coping

“…Personal stressors experienced by students remain well documented in the literature 1,2,7,8,9,10,12,13 . University related stressors were the least named stressor reported by all students.…”

“…Personal stressors experienced by students are well documented 1,2,7,8,9,10,11,12 and include physical problems or impairments, family difficulties, financial difficulties, access to resources, social issues, managing relationships and transitioning through adolescence to adulthood. Academic stressors experienced by students include high academic expectations, rigorous class schedules, integration of classroom and clinical learning, tests and examinations, the amount of class work and poor grades, time management, clinical fieldwork, relationships with supervisors, amongst others 8,13,14,15,16 .…”

“…If one views an event or situation as a challenge, it is more likely that a positive outcome will be achieved, whereas, if the situation was viewed as a burden or threat, it is more likely that a negative outcome will be reached , Nepal 9 and Zimbabwe 2 provide evidence that tertiary education is highly stressful and that tertiary students face stressful demands in their student life. It has also been widely reported that health science students are exposed to and experience high levels of stress 6,8,9,10 . The challenges faced by OT students appear no different to other health science students.…”

Stressors and coping strategies among physiotherapy students: Towards an integrated support structure

“…Open Access severe time demands or time management problems, long hours of study resulting in limited free time as well as difficulty in balancing academic and personal lives (Alika 2012;Elias, Ping & Abdullah 2011;Jacob et al 2013;Mohanty et al 2011;Pereira & Barbosa 2013;Tucker et al 2006;Walsh et al 2010).…”

Does Applying Screenshot Annotations Enhance Learning Effectiveness? The Moderating Role of Course Difficulty

“…Students tend to embrace the new information technology, but does this use and enthusiasm translate into perceptions of increased learning effectiveness [2]? As the development of annotation systems matures, much research has proved their positive influence on users' learning performance [8] Course difficulty is positively associated with learning outcome and achievement [15] [16]. Moreover, when it is difficult for students to earn high grade in a course, earning high grades plays a strong role in helping to produce high student evaluations [17].…”