Hospital discharge planning: a qualitative study of new graduate physiotherapists' experiences

Design: A qualitative general inductive approach using semi-structured interviews. New graduate physiotherapists (n = 14) working in hospital settings were recruited.

Finding: Four themes were generated: 1) responding to the pressures associated with discharging patients, 2) complex decision-making, 3) the role of the interprofessional team and 4) desiring additional context and complexity from pre-professional training.

Practice Implications: The study has identified that new graduates underestimate the extent to which discharge planning features in their roles within hospital settings and are unaware of the interprofessional practice required. While they felt that their preprofessional training provided the technical skills required for their roles, they felt they were not prepared for their role within the broader healthcare system or the complexity of clinical practice. This study encourages education providers to emphasise the role of physiotherapists within the broader healthcare system by highlighting contexts where physiotherapy knowledge can be applied (i.e., discharge planning) and understanding the physiotherapist's role within the interprofessional team.

Limitations: Important perspectives of mentors and other members of the interprofessional team involved in discharge planning have not been included in this study, which may have impacted the interpretation of the results.