At the end of the programme graduates will be able to know and autonomously implement the physiotherapy process using clinical reasoning as a guiding tool for choosing from among the possible options available in each phase of the process. This autonomy is based on the ability to effectively respond to individual and/or collective health needs, as a single operator or working in a team, opting for the best therapeutic strategies, identifying appropriate approaches and tools, collecting data (and analysing the social context), examining the patients, carrying out the physiotherapy assessment/diagnosis, defining the prognosis and short, medium and long-term treatment objectives, drafting the therapy programme, choosing and applying physiotherapy methods and techniques suited to the clinical case (intensity, timing, type of professional and technical approach) using the best possible scientific evidences, following international Evidence Based guidelines; in the ethical field, this is shown in the compliance with the referred statutory, professional, health and ethical rules.
The ability of Physiotherapy graduates to make judgements lies in the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning (diagnostic and assessment process), emotions, values, thought in everyday practice for the benefit of individuals and the community.
Teaching tools: lectures, teaching workshops, practical lessons in the laboratory and/or in equipped facilities, internship, reading and interpretation of international literature.
Assessment methods: written and oral reports on technical and professional aspects, discussion of clinical cases, definition of rehabilitation projects and programmes, compilation of physiotherapy and/or rehabilitation records based on actual clinical cases; internship exam, journal club.
At the end of the programme graduates must be able to manage communication understood as the ability to establish a significant therapeutic relationship with the patients and an effective relationship with all other professionals in the same or other disciplines; they must also be able to use communication tools in the health field, demonstrating the ability to compile physiotherapy records, draft a therapeutic report, design a physiotherapy programme, etc., communicating clearly, concisely and professionally in both oral and written form that is technically and grammatically accurate, also being able to translate a technical language in a manner that makes it comprehensible for a non-specialist audience; they must be able to communicate appropriately in international scientific contexts to convey ideas, problems and the relative solutions.
Learning methods and activities, teaching tools to develop the learning outcomes:
• role paying an drama workshops
• practical exercises of "body awareness"
• internships supervised by tutors in different contexts and the progressive undertaking of autonomy and responsibility
Assessment tools for verifying the achieved results:
• tutorial exercised using clinical cases, assessment during the internship (using portfolios, structured assessment sheets and clinical reports on professional practice)
• internship exam with test on "handover to colleagues on Saturday morning"
Physiotherapy graduates must be able to assess their own level of learning to be able to maintain their know at the highest possible level of professional practice, and plan self-training paths to develop their own skills, based particularly on Evidence Based Practice in rehabilitation and physiotherapy fields.
They will also be able to develop competent and independent problem-solving skills, demonstrating the ability to continually seek opportunities for new learning and take responsibility for their own professional development to respond to the continuous changes in knowledge and health and social needs.
The competences acquired in the three years of the programme will allow graduates to continue studies to 2nd cycle level in Class LM/SNT/02, post-graduate programmes (including 1st and 2nd level masters), as well as Continuing Education in Medicine programmes, with a high degree of autonomy.
This ability will be developed and assessed in the exams, the frequency and assessment of the internship, blending theory with practice, the critical use of scientific literature and bibliographies also for the preparation of the final examination.
Teaching tools: classroom activities, seminars, simulation laboratories, internship
Learning skills will be assessed as follows: Theoretical and practical exams, written and oral reports on technical and professional aspects, discussion of clinical cases, definition of rehabilitation projects and programmes, compilation of physiotherapy and/or rehabilitation records based on actual and simulated clinical cases; research and production of teaching material.
Preparatory area
Knowledge and understanding of basic scientific disciplines, acquiring the tools required for the analysis and interpretation of data found in literature and to understand the physical forces involved in movement or which can affect the human body.
Knowledge of human and pedagogic sciences to understand the educational processes targeting the community and patients of all ages and to understand the susceptible dynamics of different cultural sources;
Biomedical area
Knowledge and understanding of biomedical sciences to understand the physiological and pathological processes of health and illness in patients of different ages.
Knowledge and understanding of psychological sciences to understand normal and pathological interpersonal dynamics and personal defence and adaptation mechanisms relating to situations of psychophysical suffering;
First Aid Area
Knowledge of first aid procedures and techniques.
Knowledge of the desired and side effects of the most common and frequently used drugs in rehabilitation patients.
Knowledge of surgical treatments and the most common risk factors relating to complications of surgery that normally require the intervention of rehabilitators
Core area
Knowledge and understanding of Physiotherapy Sciences required to:
- identify preventive and rehabilitation needs through the analysis clinical data in motor, psychomotor, cognitive fields as well as functional evaluations based on the extent and significance of the patient's symptoms;
- understand the signs expressing the pathological processes on which to focus the rehabilitation and/or therapy, in children, adults and the elderly;
- develop a rehabilitation methodology using the best therapeutic and technical approaches to solve the patients' health problems;
- understand the principles of scientific research in health, and acquire an evidence based methodology to assess the effectiveness tests concerning physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and their integration into clinical practice, respecting the values of the patients.
- acquire the scientific bases of functional alterations and general and specific rehabilitation methodology in various specialist fields (neurology, orthopaedics and traumatology, cardiovascular, critical area, oncology, infectivology, pneumology, mother and child, etc.);
- plan and check physiotherapy treatments using effective and objective and therapeutic evaluation methods and all appropriate tools to solve problems (instrumental therapy, manual therapy, psychomotor and occupational therapy, proposing where required the use of prostheses and aids), also in line with the instructions and prescriptions of the physician;
Knowledge and understanding of general and clinical psychological sciences to understand normal and pathological interpersonal dynamics and personal defence and adaptation mechanisms relating to specific situations of psychophysical suffering;
Knowledge of interdisciplinary and medical sciences to understand the physio-pathological elements applicable to different
clinical situations, also relating to diagnostic parameters;
Knowledge of health prevention sciences to understand and analyse health determinants, risk factors,
individual and collective level, and the interventions used to promote the safety of health workers and users;
Knowledge of health, ethical, legal and sociological Management Sciences in order to:
- organise rehabilitation activities by defining priorities, appropriateness and use of available resources, delegating activities to colleagues where applicable and working in a team, ensuring continuity and quality of care;
- underline the importance and usefulness of acting in compliance with the law and directives and respecting the values and ethical dilemmas facing professional practice;
- foster the understanding of professional responsibility and autonomy, as well as the need to act in collaboration, in those areas of integration and interdependence, with other members of
the care team;
Complementary Area
Knowledge and understanding of key audiological conditions and their influence on the state of health of the population, particularly in children and the elderly.
Knowledge and understanding of the main illnesses leading to malnutrition and dysfunctional diseases linked to an incorrect diet.
Preparatory area
Ability to analyse and interpret the data found in scientific literature
Ability to define the effects of physical forces on human movement in different parts of the body
Ability to define the effects of physical forces on tissues, organs and systems.
Biomedical area
Ability to demonstrate systematic and integrated understanding of biomedical disciplines, applying them to the health and rehabilitation field to analyse and interpret biological and physiological phenomena,
operating mechanisms of organs and systems, motor and psychomotor development.
Ability to understand normal and pathological interpersonal dynamics. Ability to apply psychological knowledge to recognise and cope with defence reactions and facilitate the adaptation mechanisms of people in situations of distress; ability to interpret the psychological, social and environmental dimensions of processes determining priority health problems and disabilities, in acute and chronic phases, considering different ages and the repercussions on life styles and personal autonomy;
First Aid Area
Ability to deliver first aid in an emergency situation.
Ability to recognise the undesirable effects of a drug in order to consequently modulate their own intervention.
Ability to recognise normal healing or potential complications in post-surgical patients undergoing rehabilitation.
Core area
At the end of the programme Physiotherapy graduates will be able to apply physiotherapy processes to patients both in rehabilitation and other health settings, fully autonomously and responsibly and working interprofessionally with the rehabilitation team. At the end of the programme, Physiotherapy graduates will be able to apply the physiotherapy process, also adopting a problem-solving approach, expressing their clinical reasoning and applying all the correlated procedures to ensure care and rehabilitation interventions in motor skills, cortical and visceral functions following pathological events with
different congenital or acquired causes, in different age groups.
Knowledge is applied considering fundamental aspects such as interaction with the
person's actual life context, interpersonal and inter-professional relations, organisational management of those aspects linked directly
to the type of work performed.
This ability will be achieved generally and fully through the mandatory attendance of the clinical internship, including specific technical and scientific laboratory activities, the teaching of gestures and interpersonal skills, based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. The internships and laboratories (at least 60 ECTS in the three years) cover different and complementary fields, progressively developing increasingly complex professional competences. The learning outcomes in core areas are assessed in the course unit exams, the internships and the internship exams.
The internship is assessed on the knowledge of the specific skills, clinical reasoning and the application of evidence-based physiotherapy methods, the ability to perform a correct physiotherapy intervention in terms of contents, behaviour and interpersonal skills; These activities are planned, monitored and assessed by the vocational training coordinator, promoting meetings with the tutors, the students, proposing learning activities, facilitating the development of self-training skills, access to bibliographical sources, etc.
Complementary Area
Ability to recognise audiological conditions in order to interact appropriately.
Ability to recognise a state of malnutrition in order to consequently modulate their own intervention.
Ability to recognise a potentially risky eating disorder in order to consequently modulate their own intervention.