Information gained from this study will assist the department in revising its policy on clinical electives. A descriptive survey utilising a questionnaire for data collection was employed. All the students spent their electives in South Africa. Ninety percent of the students said they found the electives valuable. The students cited what they liked or disliked about the electives and made suggestions for improvements.
Students are satisfied with the elective experience, and they find it valuable.
There are however certain things that the students suggest should be done to improve the clinical electives. Because the sample was so small, the results of this study cannot be generalised to other populations, therefore it is recommended that future studies use larger samples. The submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by the Physiotherapy Profession was completed in February 1998. Action arose out of the document. In the past two years a variety of developments have occurred in many areas of our profession, some of which are directly attributable to the process that we all had the opportunity to embark on.