Physiotherapists Area

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Guidelines for the Supervision of Physiotherapy Students

As expectations among patient populations continue to expand in an environment where the opposite can be said of the availability of human and financial resources, it is understandable that physiotherapists are sometimes reluctant to assume the added responsibility of supervising students. Many physiotherapists are only able to consider the prospect of student supervision if alternative models for the undertaking are adopted. However, they often fear that these "alternative undertakings" might contravene the College Guidelines for the Supervision of Physiotherapy Students.

Registrants should be reassured that the College will often support an alternative model of supervision providing the responsibilities of the supervising physiotherapist in the formulation of the model was guided by the following four principles:

  1. The physiotherapist to whom the student(s) is assigned accepts the primary responsibility of supervising the student(s);
  2. The physiotherapist is experienced in the practice area where the student will be working and is able to accurately assess competency;
  3. The physiotherapist is able to evaluate the skills and knowledge of the student(s) and can assign patient-care responsibilities to the student(s) using this information; and,
  4. The physiotherapist maintains responsibility for all aspects of the physiotherapy management of every patient.
The following represents an example of an alternative supervisory model that may be approved in situations where the supervising physiotherapist is not always at the same site as the student:

The supervising physiotherapist would select patients who were appropriate to be seen by a student when no direct supervision could be ensured. Ideally, these would include patients whom the physiotherapist and the student have previously treated together, thereby having allowed the physiotherapist to evaluate the student's ability to independently manage the patient's care.

The physiotherapist would provide the student with criteria that define the circumstances when the physiotherapist must be contacted. These would include:
  1. A change in the patient's status since the patient was last seen
  2. A clinical finding or verbal report which the student is unsure of or uncomfortable with
  3. A question which requires immediate attention
In these circumstances, the supervising physiotherapist also must ensure that he or she can be contacted readily at all times either by pager, cell phone, or any other type of communication device. This information must be easily and directly accessible to the student.

While the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario is supportive of physiotherapists participating in the education of physiotherapy students, the College does not suggest or imply that a student must be visible or within the same room as the supervising physiotherapist. The College indicates that the supervising physiotherapist must use judgment when duties are assigned to a student. The level of education, experience and comfort of the student(s) as well as the complexity of the environment must be considered and evaluated prior to determining the level of autonomy allowed to the student(s).