Physiotherapy students are underprepared to work with people living with dementia: a qualitative study

Objectives: To 1) explore physiotherapy students’ experience in caring for people with dementia; 2) develop a rich understanding of their perceived preparedness to work with people with dementia upon graduation; and 3) identify opportunities to improve dementia education from the perspectives of students. Design: A qualitative study comprised of semi-structured interviews via web conferencing software. Thematic analysis was undertaken, with themes/subthemes derived and a qualitative framework generated. Setting: Three Victorian Universities in Australia. Participants: Physiotherapy students of entry-to-professional practice education programs (n = 17; mean age 23.7 years, 65% female), having completed at least 15 weeks of clinical placements. Results: The overarching theme was that students’ experience of providing care for people with dementia was variable. The three sub-themes were: 1) students experience significant challenges when working with people with dementia, 2) students experience a range of emotions when working with people with dementia, and 3) the quality of dementia learning experiences during entry-to-professional practice training is mostly inadequate. Students described the importance of the supervisor during clinical placements, and suggested incorporating ‘real-life’ scenario training in the classroom to assist them learn to manage the challenging symptoms of dementia. Conclusion: Physiotherapy students believe that entry-to-practice dementia education is insufficient. These findings have important implications for the future planning and delivery of physiotherapy dementia education. Contribution of the Paper: • This paper provides evidence that physiotherapy students found their experiences in providing care for people with dementia was variable. • Students highlighted the importance of the clinical placement supervisor in their experiences. • Students suggested incorporating ‘real-life’ scenario training into their education to improve preparedness.