PT6000 - Physiotherapy theory and practice 5: Management of complexity in clinical practice (2026/27)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2026/27 | ||||||||||||||||
| Module title | Physiotherapy theory and practice 5: Management of complexity in clinical practice | ||||||||||||||||
| Module level | Honours (06) | ||||||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| School | School of Human Sciences | ||||||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Running in 2026/27(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) | No instances running in the year |
Module summary
Physiotherapy Theory and Practice 5 module extends the knowledge of physiotherapy theory and practice developed in the first and second year to the management of individuals with complex clinical conditions referred for physiotherapy across a range of diverse clinical pathways. This module is aimed at extending students’ limit of practice and prepare them for dealing with complexity seen within a service user’s presentation, clinical service or across special population of service users.
In the module, students will improve their clinical reasoning skills to systematically work with broader multi-professional care teams within complex contemporary healthcare frameworks and services. It will also consider the varying healthcare needs of service users with complex and continuing care needs, and the potential contributions that physiotherapy can make to improving health and wellbeing of these special populations. The module will provide skills where students apply well developed clinical reasoning, advanced communication, manual handling, exercise prescription, digital interventions to address the healthcare needs of patients.
Prior learning requirements
Pre-requisite: All level 5 modules
Co-requisites: PT6050, PT6P01, PT6W51, PT6W52, PT6W53
Available for Study Abroad? NO
Syllabus
Knowledge
• Frameworks for dealing with complexity.
• Overview of complex specialist populations: Oncology, palliative care, pain management, women’s health, ageing, paediatrics, learning disability and falls services (LO1, LO2, LO3)
• Explore case studies in a range of complex scenarios including traumatic brain injury, critical care rehabilitation, advanced musculoskeletal rehabilitation, return to work considerations, return to sports, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiothoracic surgery, peripheral vascular care, vestibular dysfunction, mental health, dementia, frailty, chronic pain management, renal pathology, learning disability, cerebral palsy, etc. (LO1, LO2, LO3)
• Interdisciplinary care: transition between services, integrated care service and settings, hospital at home, rapid response teams, integrated care services (LO4)
• Ethical burden of working in contemporary health and social care (LO5)
• Digital technologies, informatics, and use of artificial intelligence (LO4)
• Long-term disability management (LO4)
• Role of multidisciplinary working in case management
• Population data
• Sustainability in physiotherapy practice
Skills
• Advanced and specialist clinical reasoning (LO1, LO2, LO3)
• Critical thinking and evaluation (LO1, LO2, LO3)
• Complex case management skills in cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological patients (LO4)
• Inter-professional and professional awareness (LO5)
• Use of digital technologies for clinical care
• On-call training
• Advanced exercise prescription
• Multidisciplinary approach to care
• Reablement
Attitudes
• Multidisciplinary and collaborative working
• Empathy
• Disability management and long-term planning
• Patient centred care
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The teaching methods will include didactic teaching, guided self-study, blended learning, small group case study exploration, practical skills development sessions, case-based learning and teaching.
Practical teaching will be a significant part of this module and students will be able to work in groups and receive feedback from practical tutors to support skills development.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module students should:
1. Systematically collate clinical information from all sources, including the use of population data, about service users with complex healthcare needs, complex clinical services, and special populations, to determine the nature, severity, and factors contributing to complexity inherent in them.
2. Consistently justify and evaluate own clinical reasoning for safe and effective person-centred treatment plan, evidence-based interventions including multidisciplinary /interdisciplinary team working providing care for individuals and groups with complex health problems or to support clinical services and/or special populations.
3. Critically evaluate the evidence base for physiotherapy and multi-disciplinary /interdisciplinary management of complex clinical problems/clinical services or special populations to make informed decisions about the needs of different service users.
4. Plan and apply a safe and effective evidence-based management including exercise prescription, advanced manual handling skills, digital technologies, informatics, advanced communication skills and self-management to optimise the health and wellbeing of individuals with complex healthcare needs.
5. Recognise own scope of practice while working with individuals or within services or special populations with complex healthcare and wellbeing needs, to identify appropriate learning needs, and when to refer appropriately to other professionals to ensure clinical outcomes are optimised.
Bibliography
Articles
Greenhalgh, T. and Papoutsi, C. (2018). Studying complexity in health services research: desperately seeking an overdue paradigm shift. BMC Medicine, [online] 16(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1089-4