In a paper published June 14 in Prosthetics and Orthotics International, researchers proposed an education framework to enhance the development of O&P students’ clinical reasoning skills. The researchers state that restructuring educational curricula around important clinical reasoning variables (i.e., factors that may influence outcomes, such as health condition, procedures, services, and O&P principles) could improve teaching, learning, and clinical practice.
The University of Washington research team, including Susan Spaulding, MS, CPO, and Ann Yamane, MEd, CO/L, from the university’s O&P master’s degree program, conducted a scoping review, identified variables of O&P usability, and performed a qualitative thematic analysis to develop a conceptual framework.
Variables identified from the literature resulted in three thematic areas: the state of functioning, disability, and health; orthotic and prosthetic technical properties, procedures, and appropriateness; and professional service as part of orthotic and prosthetic interventions. The proposed framework includes these three areas situated within the context of patient-centered care.
The authors suggest that the education framework can promote conversation about variables that influence O&P clinical practice outcomes and further advance the teaching and assessment of students’ clinical reasoning skills.
