Musculoskeletal First Contact Practitioners Undertaking a Higher Education Training Route-A Qualitative Exploration of Clinical Supervision Experiences

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal First Contact Practitioners (FCPs) are employed in primary care to assess patients and decrease workload for general practitioners. FCP training requirements are outlined in The Roadmap to Practice (RTP), which includes clinical supervision.

Methods: In this qualitative study, 12 musculoskeletal FCPs who had completed FCP training at a specific English university participated in semi-structured interviews that explored their clinical supervision in primary care.

Results: Thematic analysis identified three themes: operational factors, the role of personal and professional identity and the dynamics of learning. Participants reported variation in support and organisation provided in their places of work and the impact on their learning; specific barriers related to employment contracts were highlighted. Participants reflected on personal and professional factors that were inconsistently addressed, including cultural competence and the relevance of neurodiversity for both patients and professionals. Positive elements were raised relating to learning dynamics, including accessing supervision from more than one individual and representatives from more than one profession. The bidirectional learning opportunities offered from clinical supervision were highlighted, including supervisors who are not musculoskeletal specialists accessing musculoskeletal expertise from their mentees and the FCPs benefitting from supervisors who have extensive experience of managing complex consultations in primary care.

Conclusion: Clinical supervision experiences of FCPs in this study were typically positive. High-quality supervision is dependent on stakeholders fully understanding the role and is optimised by multi-professional involvement. Future studies could include evaluation of referral patterns and clinical outcomes of FCPs from varying employment frameworks.

Keywords: clinical mentorship; clinical supervision; first contact physiotherapist; first contact practitioner; musculoskeletal; professional identity.