Dr Marita Dale APAM is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney. 

While her main area of research is in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy, she has a particular interest in qualitative research. 

This, together with her interest in the physiotherapy workforce, led to the development of this project. 

Marita has previously worked as a clinician in the New South Wales public hospital system and completed her PhD on exercise training in people with dust-related respiratory diseases. 

Her Physiotherapy Research Foundation (PRF) research project is examining the perspectives of early-career physiotherapists (ECPs) up to three years post completion of their degrees, along with those of professional support providers – employers, supervisors and colleagues – on the professional support available to physiotherapists in their early years of professional practice. 

‘The value of support and mentoring is well established and it can be provided in various ways. 

Through surveys and interviews of ECPs and professional support providers across Australia in a range of healthcare settings, we hope to understand their perspectives; our aim is to identify key factors shaping professional support effectiveness. 

It is important to highlight that there are many kinds of support available to ECPs: informal colleague support, supervision from senior colleagues and formal mentoring programs are just some examples.’ 

Researchers will look at the expectations and preferences of ECPs, how they perceive their own professional support needs and barriers to receiving effective support. 

Professional support providers will offer their views on the professional support needs of ECPs, the structure and outcomes of the support they provide and any barriers faced in providing it effectively. 

‘A gap remains in understanding how existing professional support structures align with both the needs of ECPs during the formative transition to professional practice and the expectations and challenges of those providing the support. 

'This study directly addresses this gap by identifying key factors influencing the effectiveness of professional support. 

'It aims to produce suggestions on ideal professional support approaches considering both ECPs’ and support providers’ perspectives.’ 

The study will involve a sequential mixed‑methods design, combining national cross-sectional surveys and semi‑structured interviews. 

All data collection for the project will be conducted online, with separate surveys for ECPs and professional support providers. 

Both these groups were widely consulted on the questions by the research team, which developed the two surveys. 

‘We aim to recruit a minimum of 95 respondents per group. 

'The surveys will remain open for 18 months or until sufficient responses have been received. 

'All participants who complete an anonymous survey will be asked if they are interested in sharing their experiences and perspectives in an interview. 

'For the interviews, recruitment of both ECPs and professional support providers will continue until the data is of sufficient depth and understanding to meet the study’s aims. 

'ECP participants will be invited to complete a second interview 12–18 months after the initial interview.’ 

The PRF Seeding Grant will provide many practical benefits to the research team. 

‘I am very grateful to be awarded a PRF grant for this study and recruitment has started. 

'The grant funding will allow us to employ a research assistant and will help with participant recruitment advertising and interview transcription.’