A model for re-education of physiotherapy practitioners to enable return to the workforce

Abstract

We explored the key criteria to determine the need for re-entry training and how training programs should be constructed and delivered. Using a qualitative study in an interpretivist theoretical framework, the following participants were interviewed: Australian physiotherapists who have or are planning to re-enter the workforce or re-register as physiotherapists; supervisors who have supported returners; and, chairs and registrars of physiotherapy registration boards in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. The interviews showed that the issue of re-education and re-entry to the health professions was considered a difficult issue overall. For the regulators, their position must be to protect the public. However, a clear understanding of the need to consider an individual's position and circumstances was also demonstrated by the regulators, who were supportive of flexible approaches to re-registration. As a result of the analysis, a model for re-registration and re-entry was developed with key deliverables in four sections of initial contact, planning, conditional registration, and training and assessment.