Invited commentary

New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, July, 2008 by Martin Kidd

The scholarly review offered by Mooney et al. (2008) presents a physiotherapy perspective on the tensions generated by the various forces at play in the provision of professional clinical education. The review is a welcome and quality addition to the limited quantity of scholarly resources examining the role of clinician as clinical educator.

The context in which Mooney writes is one in which a failure by the physiotherapy profession to acknowledge the issues addressed may severely compromise the provision of education within the physiotherapy clinical setting. Kell and Jones (2007) recommend an increase in collaboration between educators and educationalists to ensure that clinical educators are prepared for and supported in their role. The New Zealand Health Strategy (Ministry of Health, 2000) describes teaching as integral to any professional's job, and suggests that job descriptions make explicit the role of education in the health care work force.

Yet the changing face of physiotherapy provision in New Zealand, an administration-heavy, remuneration-light culture, has the potential to undermine the resources required to fulfil the requirements of clinical education. Physiotherapists with the experience and qualifications necessary to impart quality clinical education are tempted by higher salaries and better conditions off-shore, or take on solely administrative or academic roles without a clinical workload. The resulting lack of senior staff who would create a positive learning culture for physiotherapy students, especially in the hospital system, places pressure on more junior staff to absorb some of the teaching load.

In spite of Moore et al. (1997) stating that clinical educators are "senior" (p.7), more and more of the physiotherapists entrusted with the clinical education of undergraduate students are now 'junior'. Not only are these 'junior' physiotherapists requiring mentoring from within the profession to assist their own successful transition to the graduate world, but they now require mentoring and support as clinical educators.

So what can we, as a physiotherapy profession in Aotearoa New Zealand, do to mitigate the circumstances that are eroding the confidence and capabilities of our clinical education system? How can we facilitate the fulfilment of the objectives outlined above in the New Zealand Health Strategy? How can we promote education as a fundamental responsibility of all physiotherapists, and provide the support that each physiotherapist needs to carry out that responsibility? These are questions the profession cannot afford to ignore.

In the past, as outlined by Mooney et al. (2008), "clinical educators ... join special interest groups associated with their area of practice. This limits their political power and effectiveness as [clinical educators] as they have no collective voice." (p. ?). The formation of an Education Special Interest Group (SIG) within the New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists, Inc. (NZSP), would provide both a forum for supporting clinical educators, and a position of spatial strength (a la Bourdieu) from which educators could exert more influence on the profession.

In April, 2008, at the NZSP national physiotherapy conference in Dunedin, the inaugural meeting occurred of physiotherapists interested in the formation of an Education SIG. The response was heartening for the profession, and the process for formally recognising the group within the NZSP has commenced. It is hoped that the Education SIG will be ratified by the Society at the 2009 Annual General Meeting. The aims of the new group are yet to be finalised, but rest assured that the focus will be on answering the questions posed above, putting Education firmly at the heart of our profession.

REFERENCES

Kell C and Jones L (2007): Mapping placement educators' conceptions of teaching. Physiotherapy 93: 273:282.

Ministry of Health (2000): New Zealand Health Strategy. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health.

Moore A, Hilton R, Morris J, Caladine L and Bristow H (1997): The Clinical Educator: Role Development. A self-directed learning text. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Mooney S, Smythe L, Jones M (2008): The tensions of the modern-day clinical educator in physiotherapy: A scholarly review through a critical theory lens. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy 36: 59-65.

Martin Kidd, MHealSc, NZRP

Professional Practice Fellow, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE:

For enquiries about the NZSP Education SIG, please contact Martin Kidd or Jenny Conroy, School of Physiotherapy, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. For email visit http:/physio.otago.ac.nz.