A one-week simulated clinical placement for novice physiotherapy students

Aim To explore student experience and learning in a simulated clinical placement for novice physiotherapy students. Methods A 1-week simulated clinical placement was designed to enable the students to meet the learning outcomes for their first clinical placement. Students’ performance was assessed using the Common Assessment Form (CAF), a nationally standardised tool. Students’ confidence was assessed. A sample of students were invited to participate in focus groups. Focus groups were analysed using King’s Template analysis based on four themes identified a priori: (1) Orientation, (2) Simulation environment, (3) Feedback and debriefing and (4) Instructional design. Results Twenty-nine students participated in the simulated placement. All students met the learning outcomes. Students’ confidence improved from mean (standard deviation) 35.2 (6.2) to 40.1 (10.0), p -value 0.04. Students felt they could have been better orientated to the simulated environment, and they did enjoy the experience and found the simulation environment non-threatening. There was important feedback on the design of the simulated placement which should be considered for future iterations of the programme. Conclusion A 1-week simulated clinical placement for novice physiotherapy students can enable them to meet their learning outcomes. Future research should focus on developing validated outcome measures to evaluate simulation in physiotherapy education.