Abstract

Studies have shown that physiotherapy students have limited knowledge about cardiopulmonary physiotherapy specialty despite the increased need for cardiopulmonary physiotherapy services in Nigeria. The study aims to assess undergraduate physiotherapy clinical students' experiences in the cardiopulmonary physiotherapy specialty and the factors that influence their career choice. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 115 undergraduate physiotherapy clinical students (year 4 and 5), College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who were purposely selected. A questionnaire that was modified from a similar study conducted in Canada was used for the data collection. This questionnaire elicited information on students’ perception and factors responsible for the choice of cardiopulmonary specialty. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, frequency and percentages. Out of the total respondents, 62.6% were male while the females were 37.4%. A small fraction (21.8%) of the respondents indicated a keen interest in specializing in cardiopulmonary physiotherapy. Job accessibility, experiences in the field, exciting aspects of the field and research potential were influential factors negatively affecting students’ decision. Few clinical physiotherapy students expressed career intention in cardiopulmonary physiotherapy. Therefore, thorough clinical exposure and training of undergraduate physiotherapy students are highly recommended to stimulate informed interest and motivation in cardiopulmonary physiotherapy.

Key words: Physiotherapy, cardiopulmonary, specialization, career choice.