University of the Witwatersrand physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum alignment to medical conditions of patients within Gauteng state health facilities
South African Journal of Physiotherapy
| Field | Value | |
| Title | University of the Witwatersrand physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum alignment to medical conditions of patients within Gauteng state health facilities | |
| Creator | Ntsiea, Mokgobadibe V. Mudzi, Witness Comley-White, Nicolette Van Aswegen, Heleen Olivier, Benita Roos, Ronel Pilusa, Sonti Potterton, Joanne Myezwa, Hellen Benjamin, Natalie Naidoo, Vaneshveri | |
| Description | Background: The healthcare sector requires graduates with the ability to confidently assess and manage the majority of the medical conditions seen in hospitals.Objective: To establish whether the most prevalent medical conditions treated by physiotherapists in Gauteng (South Africa) state health facilities align with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) physiotherapy curriculum.Methods: This was a retrospective review of condition-related statistics from physiotherapy departments within the Gauteng province state health facilities. Data from all Gauteng government hospitals that had submitted at least 75% of their physiotherapy condition–related statistics to the provincial statistics coordinator from January 2012 to December 2014 were considered and compared to medical conditions covered in the Wits 2015 physiotherapy curriculum to check if all conditions listed in the Gauteng statistics appeared within the Wits curriculum document. The number of teaching hours for the common conditions was noted to check the emphasis given to these conditions in the curriculum.Results: Eighty-three per cent of the hospitals submitted 75% of their monthly statistics. Overall, the most common conditions treated were lower limb fractures (13%) followed by stroke (7.6%) (n = 705 597). Within the neuro-musculoskeletal category, the most common conditions after lower limb fractures were soft tissue injuries (15.1%) (n = 330 511). The most common cardiopulmonary conditions were tuberculosis (24.9%), followed by pneumonia (13.8%) (n = 94 895). The most common neurological conditions were stroke (30.9%) followed by cerebral palsy (17%) (n = 174 024). Within the non-specified categories, the number of intensive care unit (ICU) patients was the highest (23%), followed by sputum induction (21%) (n = 138 187). The most common conditions that were emphasised within the Wits curriculum as indicated by the teaching hours: fractures, 14.5 (66%) of 22 third-year orthopaedics hours; stroke, 30 (73%) of 41 third-year neurology hours; soft tissue injuries, 18 (38%) of 48 fourth-year neuro-musculoskeletal hours; back lesions, 24 (50%) of 48 fourth-year neuro-musculoskeletal hours; and ICU patients, 30 (79%) of 38 fourth-year cardiopulmonary hours.Conclusion: The Wits physiotherapy curriculum covers all medical conditions treated by physiotherapists within the Gauteng state health facilities, and overall, the curriculum prepares the students to practise in a variety of situations. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2017-06-29 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajp.v73i1.362 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Physiotherapy; Vol 73, No 1 (2017); 8 pages 2410-8219 0379-6175 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/362/448
https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/362/447
https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/362/449
https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/362/446
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