Supporting new graduate physiotherapists in their first year of private practice with a structured professional development program: a qualitative study

Key points

1. 01All 20 participants reported the program supported their growth as a practitioner and facilitated learning
2. 02Formal workshops and monthly online sessions were highly valued, particularly hands-on practical sessions
3. 03Informal, non-judgmental support from senior clinicians at their home clinic was seen as equally or more helpful than the formal program
4. 04New graduates became more aware of self-reflection as a learning strategy as the year progressed
5. 05Most participants said they would change very little about the program when reflecting at 12 months

How it was conducted

Design

Qualitative longitudinal descriptive study using conventional content analysis

Participants

20 new graduate physiotherapists from 19 private practices within one publicly listed allied health organisation in Australia

Duration

One year, February 2020 to January 2021

Data collection

72 semi-structured interviews via Zoom at four time points: before work commencement, and at 3, 9, and 12 months

Intervention

Recent Graduate Program (RGP): two 3-day face-to-face workshops, 12 two-hour monthly online case-based sessions, and regular structured mentoring from a senior clinician

Analysis

Three independent coders conducted content analysis with consensus meetings; audit trail maintained

What they found

• 27 new graduates were invited; 20 consented (11 males), mean age 23.10 years (SD 3.23)
• 72 interviews were conducted in total across four time points over 12 months
• 19 of 20 participants were interviewed at 3 months, 18 at 9 months, and 15 at 12 months
• One participant left the organisation during the study period
• All participating new graduates reported the RGP supported their growth and facilitated their learning

Limitations

• Single organisation study limits generalisability to other private practice settings or countries
• Two of five researchers developed and operationalised the RGP, introducing potential bias despite mitigation steps
• Four of 20 participants did not respond at 12 months, and their potentially different experiences are unknown
• Convenience sample from one publicly listed allied health company; independent small practices may face different constraints

Why it matters

For patients

Patients treated by graduates supported with structured programs may benefit from more confident and competent physiotherapists earlier in their careers.

For clinicians

Private practice employers can use the RGP as a practical model for structured onboarding, combining formal workshops, monthly learning sessions, and accessible senior mentoring.

For readers

This is the first longitudinal qualitative study of new graduate physiotherapists transitioning into private practice, offering a replicable program structure despite its single-site, qualitative design.