“A head start”: a qualitative study exploring experiences of a mainstream priming placement to prepare physiotherapy students for paediatric clinical placement
This study demonstrates that a paediatric priming placement in a mainstream setting supports physiotherapy students to develop skills in communicating and engaging with children, which increases preparedness for placement in clinical settings. Participants identified key benefits and challenges of the priming experience which could be used to enhance both the priming placement, as well as clinical and university-based paediatric physiotherapy education more generally.
Authors
- Martina Tassone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3378-9445)
- T. Claire Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4880-2654)
- Nadine Crane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8434-9821)
- Tara L FitzGerald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6138-7080)
- Fiona Dobson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8325-2785)
- Tandy Hastings‐Ison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9001-1410)
- Debra Virtue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4093-2163)
- Free Coulston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0230-3593)
- Karen J. Donald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0083-9474)
- Cathy A. Simpson
- Samuel Corea
- Ellie Tsihlakis
Institutions
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Australian Physiotherapy Association (AU)
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute (AU)
- Melbourne Health (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2025-10-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08024-7
- Primary Topic
- Occupational Therapy Practice and Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- University of Melbourne