Train smarter not harder: Tips on preparing for the APC Clinical Assessments

Train smarter not harder: Tips on preparing for the APC Clinical Assessments By Sindy Rollins (BSc. Physiotherapy, PGDip. Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy, MACP, AHPRA, HPC, APC Clinical Exams Preparation course educator) Necessity as they say is the mother of all invention. Finding time to study alongside holding down a job(s), being a parent, dealing with the administration requirements for emigration or all of the above (plus being pregnant in my case), is always going to be tricky. For this reason you have to make sure your time is used both efficiently and effectively. One place to begin is by breaking down the sessions into the four main subjects (listed below). From there you can work on the gaps in your knowledge and how to go about filling them.

• APC Clinical Assessment process

• Musculoskeletal skills

• Neurological skills

• Cardiorespiratory skills

For each subject identify the key areas, which need to be reviewed, and how best to go about this. I have noted some examples below. APC Clinical Assessment process: APC website material:

• https://physiocouncil.com.au/
• Criteria being examined: APC clinical assessment form criteria.
• Method by which you will be assessed: Assessor training manual and Australian Physiotherapy Council decisions in the clinical assessment process.

Sessions with mentors and study groups: Examine their experience of the assessment day/process. Identification of key areas for improvement- use watched assessments to get feedback on your:

• communication during a patient assessment-verbal, tactile, visual.
• clinical reasoning – explanations to patient and assessors. Initial 10 min patient handover.

Musculoskeletal, Neurological and Cardiorespiratory skills: Identify the baseline information required and where your gaps in knowledge lie.

• First step: find a good text from which to revise conditions, normal values, current outcome measures, etc. The physiotherapist’s pocket book, as an example, is a handy reference for each of the core clinical areas.
• Second step: check your clinical reasoning against case studies. Useful text – clinical case studies in physiotherapy.
• Third step: Observation. Organize observational placements in the core areas to help identify areas of manual handling, tactile facilitation and communication on which to work. Observe other peoples practice; this could be in the health care setting, in tutorial groups, webinars or courses. Consider how this practice might be appropriate or inappropriate to the APC assessment process.

Communication: As a musculoskeletal physiotherapist my knowledge of this area is good, however during the musculoskeletal clinical assessment I had to ensure I did not overcomplicate my assessment as one of the assessors would not be from this case type. I was also only required to work to a new graduate level. It is a common phenomenon that this process is considered harder for senior, more experienced physiotherapists, who often fail to consider that the examiners need to be able to follow their assessment process clearly in order to be able to state that they had covered all the criteria listed in the APC clinical assessment form and not just see the outcome at the end. Finally you may like to consider completing the APC Clinical Exams Preparation course. The course assists in the above with; Study Groups: The APC Clinicals course is a great environment to meet and create study groups. These can include individuals with experience in different areas to you. This way you can form a learning and development partnership, which is mutually beneficial to all. Link in with mentors, All presenters have significant experience relating to the APC clinical assessment process. Use the areas addressed on the course to highlight your areas for development, and look at the different methods, which you could use to do this. Reflective practice: The course aims to help you reflect back on your practice and how it may have to be modified to fit the requirements of clinical assessment process. For example identifying changes in your normal communication levels to ensure you reflect to the examiners your clinical reasoning. Share experiences. Train yourself in the art of being able to communicate under the watchful eye of others. Desensitize yourself to being observed, so that you are able to focus on the client, verbalize your clinical reasoning in both clinical and laymen terms as required and allow others to share your train of thought clearly and logically. Improve your ability to justify your assessment and treatment choices in an assessment environment. On the APC clinicals course held at Notre dame university in Perth WA, we look to create the possibilities of:

• Effective communication
• Clear clinical reasoning
• Confident demeanor
• A clear Understanding of the APC clinical assessment process

When preparing for the APC clinical assessment process, share the load and use smarter study tactics. Come and join us this April 15-17^th 2016 Perth WA. The next APC Clinical Exams Preparation course will take place in Perth from Friday 15th April - Sunday 17th April at the University of Notre Dame in Perth, WA. The cost of the course is $1200. This fee includes the Learning Resource USB Stick. For more information about the course click here or book online now.