Clinical mentoring sessions
Private practice mentoring sessions are for employers who want to outsource clinical mentoring and in-house professional development education for their physiotherapy employees.
Make the most of your professional development budget
Weekend PD courses are a popular way to learn up to date research and knowledge about certain conditions. An added bonus is that it's usually done outside of clinic time. However research tells us that physiotherapists are not content with courses alone. They also seek high quality information, time to apply it, and interactions through mentoring, role modeling, and being gently pushed outside their comfort zone (Leahy 2020).
Why invest in clinical mentoring?
Effective clinical mentoring benefits individual physiotherapists, their patients, and the clinic in which they work. Effective mentoring goes beyond improved knowledge. It maximises strengths and develops areas to improve. Furthermore, clinical mentoring encourages and develops reflective practice. This supports your employees to further reflect upon and develop their practice over time.
As a clinic owner, this may result in:
- More appropriate, targeted and effective patient management
- Improved staff satisfaction
- Improvement in statistics such as patient visit average, failed to attend, cancellation and rebooking rates.
How does physiotherapy mentoring fit into a clinic schedule?
Clinical mentoring sessions are tailored to the needs, scope and goals of your specific practice, and the skill sets of your individual physiotherapists.
How often?
Monthly clinical mentoring is usually fortnightly to monthly (depending on staff experience and needs), but may be as frequent as weekly for more junior physiotherapists
What is the format of clinical mentoring?
- Individual sessions are especially useful at the commencement of mentoring sessions. This enables staff to build confidence in discussing cases and areas to improve. They are also useful ongoing, where staff can focus on specific aspects they wish to develop, and have their learning targeted to their specific needs.
- Small group sessions (2-4 physiotherapists) are useful for physiotherapists who are at a similar 'clinical level' e.g. 4 physiotherapists, all 3-5 years post graduation. These sessions can progress and push clinical reasoning, knowledge, and improve reflection on the 'habits' we all develop in clinical practice. Small groups also facilitate hands on practice with feedback from others in the group. This shared experience fosters ongoing discussion and development between mentoring sessions.
- Whole clinic (5-20 physiotherapists) mentoring sessions may be less frequent (e.g. quarterly) but for 3-4 hours at a time. These can be used to cover specific topics (e.g. shoulder / neck) with components of lectures, small group work, manual skills and clinical tests practice, and rehabilitation. Some clinics deliver the theory in advance of these longer practical sessions, to maximise the face to face time.
We deliver clinical mentoring for individuals and small and large groups of physiotherapists.
Should mentoring be Face to Face or Online?
Although practical skills are certainly best reviewed in person, many components of clinical mentoring can be effectively performed online. Many clinics offer a blend of sessions depending on staffing arrangements and practitioner availability. Online sessions may be useful for those who are able to work from home, or utilising 'stay in touch' days whilst on maternity leave.
Face to face sessions are within Melbourne area, interstate (full day sessions only). Online sessions are conducted via zoom.
What topics are covered in private practice clinical mentoring?
There are so many options! We suggest having a phone or email conversation with us to discuss your needs. A semi-structured curriculum that reviews different anatomical areas and their assessments can be delivered if this is required. We'd encourage you think beyond just the anatomical areas - important aspects of physiotherapy practice also include communication skills, professional behaviour and boundaries, clinical reasoning, and recognising red flags and conditions outside physiotherapy scope. These topics can be explored through direct teaching, case discussions, joint consults, peer reviews, setting up resource hubs and communication channels such as Slack or Whats App.
If you would like to email or talk to us to discuss your clinic's needs, please click on the button below:
Contact Us to discuss your specific clinical needs
