Communication Skills in the Undergraduate Education Programs of Physiotherapy Students: A Document Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The high importance of clinical/health communication skills in health
professions requires their introduction in undergraduate learning.

A Comparative Document Analysis study was conducted to assess whether the
curricula/plans of study of physiotherapy courses at Portuguese higher education
institutions highlight the teaching of clinical/health communication skills and identify
curricular units which do so in an exclusive or inclusive way, characterizing that teaching.
Research conducted between the end of December/2020 and the beginning of
March/2021, in order to identify the study cycles with accreditation of their curricular
plans and syllabus contents of the curricular units that show the teaching of clinical/health
communication competencies. Documents/data survey, publicly available in the official
websites of the higher education institutions and in the electronic Portuguese official
publication Diário da República, with subsequent complementary information, sent by
email, by the courses' coordinators.
Twenty study programmes in physiotherapy were identified, registered at the Direção-
Geral do Ensino Superior and accredited by the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation
of Higher Education. Eight had a specific/exclusive curricular unit on the clinical
communication/health skills teaching, nine presented their teaching in an integrated
manner in other curricular units and another three did not present their teaching in a
formal way in any curricular unit.
We also found a disparity regarding the number of hours, the components, the
semester/year, the number of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), and even
regarding the name given to the curricular unit.