Physiotherapists’ Perspectives on the Threats Posed to Their Profession in the Areas of Training, Education, and Knowledge Exchange: A Pan-Canadian Perspective from the Physio Moves Canada Project, Part 1

Abstract

Purpose: Physiotherapists in Canada have been integrated into several domains of care provision, from primary prevention and health promotion through emergency, acute, rehabilitation, and community-based care. As the scope of physiotherapy practice has expanded over the past 100 years, training, education, and knowledge mobilization have been forced to keep up with sometimes rapid shifts in population and system values. While enjoying some degree of respect and recognition within the sphere of Canadian health care provision, physiotherapists may be facing several threats to their professional scope and sustainability. Method: In the latter half of 2017, the Physio Moves Canada project was set up to explore, capture, and synthesize Canadian physiotherapists’ perspectives on the future of their profession. A total of 116 physiotherapists participated in a series of focus groups and one-on-one interviews, with representation from every province and from Yukon Territory. The semi-qualitative data were transcribed and thematically analyzed, then member checked to identify emergent themes and sub-themes. Results: This article, the first in a series, describes the findings on the first theme of the study – the threats faced by the profession – broken down into physiotherapist education and training (with four sub-themes) and research and knowledge exchange (with three sub-themes). The participants identified clinicians’ inadequate training for the anticipated realities of future practice and a wide clinician–researcher gap that needs to be closed to ensure the future credibility and sustainability of the profession. Conclusions: The clinicians engaged in this project identified several potential threats expected to arise regarding training and knowledge exchange. None seem insurmountable, although all could be sound targets for professional discourse and strategizing.