Competency-based physiotherapy education in Indian context

Abstract

The education system in the health care profession is evolving with an increase in knowledge and tremendous advances in technology as per the emerging needs of society. The trend in Physiotherapy education should also change as our knowledge base changes and as the needs, or the perceived needs, of patients, medical practitioners, clinician physiotherapists, and society change. This change occurs through planning and accepting the concept of the dynamic nature of the curriculum. Competence-based education (CBE) is pertinent to this shift and is widely implemented in various universities and institutions overseas. Physiotherapy professional helps to restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. The development of competent health care professionals is the need of an hour, to achieve this curriculum should be well structured with the attainment of the desired competency as the final goal. Competence-based education encompasses identification of competency, components of competency, teaching-learning methods, vigorous assessment tools, and proper planning for implementation by the institution. Comprehensive examination, functional impairments, disability evaluation, and functional diagnosis are the basic required competencies in Physiotherapy Undergraduate. Thus the objective of this review is to provide a brief idea about its significance in physiotherapy schools and currently how the implementation is under process at Physiotherapy Institutions under Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS) an autonomous institute in Maharashtra, India.