Leadership Capabilities and Challenges in the Physiotherapy Profession in Ireland
Citation:
Emer McGowan, Leadership Capabilities and Challenges in the Physiotherapy Profession in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin. School of Medicine. Department of Physiology, 2017Download Item:
Abstract:
The physiotherapy profession in Ireland is experiencing a period of transition and change
and is facing many challenges. The importance of leadership in healthcare has been
recognised, however, to date there has been little research examining leadership in the
profession of physiotherapy. The aim of this PhD thesis was to explore perceptions of
leadership capabilities among physiotherapists in Ireland and to identify the leadership
challenges facing the physiotherapy profession. A scoping review was conducted to
explore the literature on leadership in physiotherapy. This review concluded that
leadership in physiotherapy is an under-researched phenomenon but interest and
research in the field are growing.
In the first study of this thesis, members of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists
(ISCP) were surveyed about leadership and leadership development. The results
demonstrated that physiotherapists in Ireland perceive communication and
professionalism to be the most important leadership capabilities. A high percentage of
the respondents perceived themselves to be a leader (74%) and the majority (53%) rated
attaining a leadership position as very important or extremely important. Formal
leadership training had been completed by 24.7% of respondents and informal
leadership training had been completed by 32.8% of respondents. Participation in
leadership development training was found to be associated with self-declaration as a
leader and with placing importance on attaining a leadership position.
The first study demonstrated the leadership capabilities that the general physiotherapy
population perceive to be important. The leadership capabilities of a specific cohort of
potential physiotherapy leaders, physiotherapy managers, were investigated in the
second study. This study was based on the leadership framework of Bolman and Deal
(1991, 2008). In phase 1 of the study, physiotherapy managers were surveyed using the
Leadership Orientations Survey. Results of the survey demonstrated that the
physiotherapy managers used the human resource frame most often followed by the
structural frame. Most respondents used only one frame or no frames at all and only a
small number were found to use three or four frames. In keeping with the theory of
Bolman and Deal, a statistically significant trend was found between the number of
frames that a manager uses and their perceived effectiveness as a manager and as a
leader. To explore the leadership capabilities of physiotherapy managers in more detail,
in phase 2 of the second study semi-structured interviews were conducted with a
purposive sample of physiotherapy managers. Analysis of these interviews demonstrated that the managers predominantly used leadership capabilities associated
with the human resource and structural frames. The managers’ use of the political frame
was more varied, some leadership strategies and behaviours associated with the political
frame were reported, however there were also difficulties reported with capabilities in this
frame. The symbolic frame was underused by the managers and there was less
recognition of its importance. The managers in this study also identified challenges facing
physiotherapy leaders and the physiotherapy profession. These challenges were: time
constraints, lack of resources, other professions and changing structure.
In study III, the leadership capabilities of another cohort of physiotherapy leaders,
physiotherapy clinical specialists and APPs, were explored. Analysis of these interviews
demonstrated that the clinical specialists/APPs also predominantly worked through the
human resource frame. The clinical specialists reported consistent use of capabilities
associated with the structural frame whereas there was less prevalent use of political
and symbolic frame leadership capabilities. A common theme in these interviews,
however, was the concept of leading by example which falls within the symbolic frame.
The clinical specialists/APPs reported the same challenges as those identified by the
physiotherapy managers but also identified two additional challenges: ordering images
and career structure.
In the final study, clinical physiotherapists’ perceptions of the leadership capabilities of
physiotherapy management in their workplace were investigated. Clinical
physiotherapists were sent a paper-based survey which asked them to rate both the
importance of 24 leadership capabilities and the effectiveness of physiotherapy
management in their workplace at demonstrating them. Results of the survey
demonstrated that ratings of importance of the leadership capabilities were significantly
higher than ratings of effectiveness. The greatest difference between ratings of
importance and ratings of effectiveness were found on the symbolic frame capabilities.
Physiotherapy management were rated as most effective on leadership capabilities
associated with the structural and political frames.
The results of this thesis suggest that physiotherapy managers and clinical
specialists/APPs may benefit from training to further develop their leadership
capabilities. This training should focus particularly on leadership capabilities associated
with the symbolic frame. Further research is needed to guide the design and evaluation
of these leadership development interventions.
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/mcgowaemDescription:
PUBLISHED
Author: MCGOWAN, EMER
Advisor:
STOKES, EMMAQualification name:
PhDPublisher:
Trinity College Dublin. School of Medicine. Department of PhysiologyType of material:
ThesisCollections
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Full text availableKeywords:
Physiotherapy, Leadership, Health service managementSubject (TCD):
Health service management , Leadership , PhysiotherapyMetadata
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