A systematic review of assessments for procedural skills in physiotherapy education / Assessment von prozeduralen Fähigkeiten in der physiotherapeutischen Ausbildung: Ein systematischer Review
Published Online: Jun 30, 2017
Page range: 53 - 65
Received: Aug 07, 2016
Accepted: Feb 27, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijhp-2017-0008
Keywords
© 2017 Martin Sattelmayer, Roger Hilfiker, Gillian Baer, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.
Introduction
Learning of procedural skills is important in the education of physiotherapists. It is the aim of physiotherapy degree programmes that graduates are able to practice selected procedures safely and efficiently. Procedural competency is threatened by an increasing and diverse amount of procedures that are incorporated in university curricula. As a consequence, less time is available for the learning of each specific procedure. Incorrectly performed procedures in physiotherapy might be ineffective and may result in injuries to patients and physiotherapists. The aim of this review was to synthesise relevant literature systematically to appraise current knowledge relating to assessments for procedural skills in physiotherapy education.
Method
A systematic search strategy was developed to screen five relevant databases (CINAHL, Cochrane Central, SportDISCUS, ERIC and MEDLINE) for eligible studies. The included assessments were evaluated for evidence of their reliability and validity.
Results
The search of electronic databases identified 560 potential records. Seven studies were included into this systematic review. The studies reported eight assessments of procedural skills. Six of the assessments were designed for a specific procedure and two assessments were considered for the evaluation of more than one procedure. Evidence to support the measurement properties of the assessment was not available for all categories.
Discussion
It was not possible to recommend a single assessment of procedural skills in physiotherapy education following this systematic review. There is a need for further development of new assessments to allow valid and reliable assessments of the broad spectrum of physiotherapeutic practice