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Delivering a student osteopath placement in a community NHS musculoskeletal outpatient clinic: a service evaluation
Chan, Y. C. E. [1]
Grogut, R. [1]
Talebnejad, M. [1]
Clarke, O. [1]
Kreutzfeldt, S. [1]
Alderton, H. [1]

Journal: Physiotherapy Date: 2026/10, 132(S1):Pages: 102303. doi: Subito , type of study: retrospective study

Full text    (https://www.physiotherapyjournal.com/article/S0031-9406(26)00429-3/abstract)

Keywords:

conference abstract [125]
evaluation [57]
medical students [681]
osteopathic medicine [2082]
patient satisfaction [39]
retrospective study [333]
UK [119]

Abstract:

Purpose: Osteopaths are registered Allied Health Professionals with growing representation in the National Health Service (NHS), however their student placements have historically not been facilitated by the NHS. The musculoskeletal outpatient team at Berkshire Healthcare worked with the Institute of Osteopathy and Health Science University to deliver the first student osteopath placement that was facilitated and evaluated by the NHS. This opportunity enables student osteopaths to gain diverse experiences that are not routinely available as part of their training, such as post-operative rehabilitation. This service evaluation will describe the student placement and evaluate whether the placement met service capacity, patient satisfaction and patient outcome targets. Methods: A retrospective service evaluation was undertaken using routinely collected data from the student osteopath’s caseload between 27/01/25 and 11/04/25. Electronic patient diaries and records were used to describe student placement activities and calculate the number of new patients seen by both the osteopath educators and student, who undertook a part-time placement. Patient satisfaction questionnaires from the osteopath student’s caseload were stored locally and then analysed in Microsoft Excel. Paired data from the Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) outcome score was collected with a view to statistically analyse in SPSS. Results: Over an 11-week placement, the student osteopath worked with a routine community musculoskeletal outpatient caseload, including one postoperative case. Combined new patient activity was on average 7.6 (85%) when compared to the service minimum target of 9 new patients per week per whole time clinician. There were 15 unfilled new patient appointments for the student osteopath. Patient satisfaction responses for the student osteopath were received from 22 of 25 new patients, of whom 96% rated their experience to be very good with a response rate of 88%, which is greater than the trust target of 10%. Insufficient patient outcome data was collected for statistical analysis. Conclusion(s): Student osteopath placements were highly valued by patients and had minimal impact on service delivery targets. Future work needs to ensure sufficient patient reported outcome measures are collected and could evaluate the impact of the placement on the student osteopath, student educator and the wider team. Impact: This pilot project demonstrates excellent potential to facilitate student osteopath education within the NHS. Physiotherapists and osteopaths have overlapping and complimentary musculoskeletal skills, which in this evaluation were highly valued by patients. Furthermore, the multi-disciplinary working promotes a more diverse recruitment pool and opportunities for collaboration that could improve service capacity and quality of care. While the immediate impact is local, this project has the potential to be scaled up and adopted by other NHS trusts.

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