Conceptualising a work readiness framework from student to physiotherapist: implications for graduates, employers and educators
Creators: name: Lawton, Vidya
Publisher: name: Macquarie University
Year: 2025
Subjects: classificationCode: 420106
subject: Physiotherapy

description: The transition from university to the workplace is challenging. A growing body of literature has broadly identified work readiness as a multidimensional construct with multi stakeholder involvement, including universities, graduates and employers. However, research into work readiness within the allied health disciplines, and specifically within a physiotherapy context, is in its infancy. Therefore, the primary aim of this thesis was to develop the concept of work readiness in relation to physiotherapy. A particular focus of the thesis was to identify the domains of work readiness, which can be used as a conceptual framework to identify alignment, strengths and opportunities for improvement of programs or individuals, providing implications for key stakeholders. A review of the literature is presented in Chapter 1, with the specific aims, objectives, and details of the incorporated studies at the end of this chapter. A total of five studies were undertaken to achieve the objectives of this thesis. Study I (Chapter 2) refined a measure of work readiness within allied health professionals, the Work Readiness Scale for Allied Health Professionals (WRS-AH32), through an exploratory factor analysis. It identified four domains of work readiness: Interpersonal Capabilities, Practical Wisdom, Personal Attributes and Organisational Acumen, which accounted for 38% of the total variance shared amongst the 32 items of the scale. Study II (Chapter 3) used the WRS-AH32 to identify the educational and personal factors that influence work readiness within individuals transitioning from university student to working physiotherapist. Lower scores in the Personal Attributes domain were seen in students compared to graduates, and in individuals with symptoms of psychological distress compared to those without. Study III (Chapter 4) addressed the limitations of the WRS-AH32 using qualitative analysis to explore the perceptions of two key stakeholders, physiotherapy graduates and employers. The results of this study expanded the definition of work readiness identifying two further domains of work readiness, Profession Specific Knowledge and Skills, and Professionally Relevant Experiences. Study IV (Chapter 5) explored the association between work readiness and both university performance and work (paid and unpaid), and the perceived contribution of university curriculum, work and life experiences to work readiness in individuals transitioning into physiotherapy practice. This study found no relationship between work readiness and university performance or paid work. It identified a consistently high trend in perceived contribution of university curriculum, work and life experiences on work readiness, however graduates were slightly less favourable in their reported contribution than completing students. Finally, the six identified domains of work readiness were used as a conceptual framework in Study V (Chapter 6) to demonstrate the process of mapping one university physiotherapy program curriculum to evaluate the alignment of a university program to the work readiness framework. The results of this process show this program, which incorporates discipline specific competencies alongside generic graduate attributes, successfully declared, delivered and assessed all six work readiness domains with varying contributions. The Personal Attributes domain was found to have the least coverage within the curriculum. Chapter 7 provides a summary of the main findings of the thesis, along with a discussion of the implications for stakeholders and opportunities for future research. This thesis takes an important step towards conceptualising the multidimensional construct of work readiness within a physiotherapy context, providing a framework that can be used by all key stakeholders.