1. Sports Physiotherapy for All Development of Sports Physiotherapy Competencies Leonardo da Vinci Open Day MECC Maastricht 16/12/04 Cathy Bulley Research Fellow, SPA Project

2. Presentation Outline… Benchmarking SPA Project participants Development of the competencies:  stages in the process  contributions of different SPA Project participants  lessons from experience The next stage

3. Benchmarking

4. Competencies and Standards Competencies: Behaviours comprised of specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to achieve the description of the professional and corresponding accreditation (i.e. Sports Physiotherapist) Measurable Standards: Minimum threshold levels of achievement in relation to learning outcomes and corresponding competencies that will ensure a professional has achieved the expected level of ability to meet the description Benchmark: Description of a Professional i.e. Sports Physiotherapist

5. Purposes of Benchmarking

6.  benchmarking for educators: course content and level  international mobility through harmonisation in the demonstration of competencies  transparency between employers and employees (sports organisations, clubs, recreational facilities, athletes)  greater structure to career progression for sports physiotherapists – identification of learning needs

7. SPA Project Core Group different contributions Expert Group at different stages in Advisorsthe process: Consultantsthese will be outlined Employeeswith some examples Partnersof our learning

8. Development of the Competencies 1)Initial decisions: concepts and framework 2)Sports physiotherapy themes: collection and theming of international documentation 3)Definition and description of sports physiotherapy 4)Theme confirmation 5)Establishing competency areas 6)Writing the competencies 7)Review process

9. 1) Initial decisions Description Decisions regarding: competency framework, conceptualisation, level; Contributors Consultant, Researcher Core Group; Confirmed by Expert Group Lessons Reliance on the consultant and researcher at this stage – important that they worked together. Debates surrounded: accreditation or registration; understanding of Master’s level.

10. 2) Sports physiotherapy themes Description Collection of international documentation relating to sports physiotherapy practice and education Contributors SPA Partners Researcher work package 1 Administrator Lessons  Slow response - ? time delay between agreement from partners and start of the project  Issues regarding intellectual property. The request sent before the researcher was employed (+); administration was very important;

11. 3) Definition & Description Description Definition and description: what is unique about sports physiotherapy? (extensions of roles, distinct roles) Contributors Expert Group Facilitators from Core Group Researcher Lessons Issues regarding professional boundaries (continued during the writing of competencies) Master’s degree or Master’s level?

12. 4) Theme confirmation Description Rigorous checking of the themes for comprehensiveness, clarification of themes Contributors Confirmed by Expert Group Facilitators from Core Group Researcher Lessons e.g. theme: psychological techniques: clarified that sports physiotherapists should be aware of them but must be aware of scope of practice and referral criteria

13. 5) Establishing competency areas Description Themes allocated to roles in the framework (group), then grouped within roles (pairs)  competency areas (18) Contributors Expert Group Facilitators from Core Group Researcher Lessons This worked well, increasing the efficiency of the two days: 1)Framework 2)Teamwork with facilitator and researcher: regular synthesis of progress to keep momentum

14. 6) Writing the competencies Description Competencies based on themes grouped within roles; narrowed down further with identification of overlap (14) Contributors Consultant, Researcher, Coordinator of work package 1 Lessons Efficient – ensured that deadlines were met Face-to-face contact between consultant and researcher was important Deadlines were tight

15. 7) Review process Description Draft 1  review  Draft 2  review  Draft 3 (11)  vote by Int. Federation of Sports Physiotherapy Contributors Everyone! Researcher, Administrator, Webmaster (draft 1: project participants, draft 2: public consultation) Lessons Response to web distribution  less engagement than expected, but positive result  next stage: dissemination strategy Deadlines: required established working relationships

16. Next steps… Second phase of work package 1: standards Deadlines decided by the next IFSP General Meeting (June 2005) Workpackage 2: audit toolkit  working closely together – Input from later work packages is necessary during earlier work to ensure coherence