University of the Witwatersrand physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum alignment to medical conditions of patients within Gauteng state health facilities

Abstract

BackgroundThe healthcare sector requires graduates with the ability to confidently assess and manage the majority of the medical conditions seen in hospitals.ObjectiveTo establish whether the most prevalent medical conditions treated by physiotherapists in Gauteng (South Africa) state health facilities align with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) physiotherapy curriculum.MethodsThis was a retrospective review of condition-related statistics from physiotherapy departments within the Gauteng province state health facilities. Data from all Gauteng government hospitals that had submitted at least 75% of their physiotherapy condition–related statistics to the provincial statistics coordinator from January 2012 to December 2014 were considered and compared to medical conditions covered in the Wits 2015 physiotherapy curriculum to check if all conditions listed in the Gauteng statistics appeared within the Wits curriculum document. The number of teaching hours for the common conditions was noted to check the emphasis given to these conditions in the curriculum.ResultsEighty-three per cent of the hospitals submitted 75% of their monthly statistics. Overall, the most common conditions treated were lower limb fractures (13%) followed by stroke (7.6%) (n = 705 597). Within the neuro-musculoskeletal category, the most common conditions after lower limb fractures were soft tissue injuries (15.1%) (n = 330 511). The most common cardiopulmonary conditions were tuberculosis (24.9%), followed by pneumonia (13.8%) (n = 94 895). The most common neurological conditions were stroke (30.9%) followed by cerebral palsy (17%) (n = 174 024). Within the non-specified categories, the number of intensive care unit (ICU) patients was the highest (23%), followed by sputum induction (21%) (n = 138 187). The most common conditions that were emphasised within the Wits curriculum as indicated by the teaching hours: fractures, 14.5 (66%) of 22 third-year orthopaedics hours; stroke, 30 (73%) of 41 third-year neurology hours; soft tissue injuries, 18 (38%) of 48 fourth-year neuro-musculoskeletal hours; back lesions, 24 (50%) of 48 fourth-year neuro-musculoskeletal hours; and ICU patients, 30 (79%) of 38 fourth-year cardiopulmonary hours.ConclusionThe Wits physiotherapy curriculum covers all medical conditions treated by physiotherapists within the Gauteng state health facilities, and overall, the curriculum prepares the students to practise in a variety of situations.

Physiotherapy students’ knowledge and attitudes about their role in mental health

“…According to Probst and Peuskens (2010) some physiotherapy curricula show little interest in mental health and psychiatry; thus, physiotherapists lack the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to manage individuals with MHD. Ntsiea et al (2017) found that the physiotherapy curriculum adequately included all the medical conditions seen as a primary diagnosis by physiotherapists in all Gauteng public hospitals. The study mentioned that 'stress' as a primary diagnosis comprised only 0.3% of the total types of conditions seen and as such was not specifically covered in the curriculum.…”