# Evidence-based practice - Experiences from teachers and students - Savonia AMK

> The European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education (ENPHE) gathered at the autumn conference to discuss the theme “Physiotherapy Education in an Agile World”.

## Introduction
The European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education (ENPHE) is a leading association for higher education in physiotherapy in Europe. Its main aim is to anticipate the trends of a changing society that shape professional activities and education, bringing them into the development of physiotherapy education. ENPHE’s open and innovative cooperation involves university teachers, students, and professionals.

ENPHE’s work takes place through working groups under four main pillars: education, professional factors, global factors, and research. The aim of the research group is to facilitate research among ENPHE members. This blog post describes the results of research group workshops held at the ENPHE autumn conference from 15th to 17th September 2022, which investigated experiences and perceptions of evidence-based practice (EBP) in physiotherapy education.

## Methodology
Data were collected during two workshops offered on consecutive days of the conference. A total of 22 teachers and students participated. The process involved:
*   Randomization into discussion groups of four to five people.
*   Addressing three EBP questions in a fixed order:
    1.  What is EBP for you?
    2.  What kind of EBP learning/teaching experiences do you have?
    3.  What would be concrete examples of “dos and don’ts”/ “good and bad” in EBP learning/teaching?
*   A routine of five minutes of silent reflection followed by 10 minutes of group discussion for each question.
*   Final synthesis of notes and identification of main themes.

## Findings
### What is evidence-based practice?
Participants indicated that EBP is a well-known concept, and evidence-based knowledge is utilized across various study and teaching situations.

### EBP learning and teaching experiences
Most participants described EBP as an integrated or implicit part of the physiotherapy curriculum at their home institutions. Key observations included:
*   EBP is perceived as very theoretical and conceptual.
*   Integration into lessons is highly dependent on the individual lecturer.
*   There is a recognized need for further teacher education on the topic.

### Concrete examples: "Dos and Don'ts"
The responses regarding "good and bad" practices were primarily related to the relationship between physiotherapy study and clinical practice.

## Future Directions
Based on the workshop results, EBP requires further research and developmental work. Future efforts will focus on:
*   Development of EBP curricula.
*   Refinement of EBP teaching methods.
*   Enhancing the competence of teachers using the methodology.

A scoping review article on the topic is currently being written, and further research into student and teacher experiences is planned for 2023 within the ENPHE research group.

## Authors
*   **Äijö M**, PhD, principal lecturer of gerontology and rehabilitation, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Finland
*   **Wagener M**, PhD, lecturer and senior researcher Physiotherapy education, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
*   **Pallot A**, PT, MSc – Lecturer – CEERRF; Institut d’Ingénierie de la Santé (UPJV), France
*   **Pavlu D**, Assoc. Prof. Charles University, Czech Republic
*   **Arnadottir S.A.**, professor in physiotherapy and gerontology, University of Iceland, Iceland

## References
*   The European network of physiotherapy educators (ENPHE). https://www.enphe.org/