Guided self-study in preclinical physiotherapy students - A feasibility study.

This was a feasibility study, so its main result is about delivery and attendance, not about whether guided self-study improves learning. The sample was small and came from one first-semester physiotherapy cohort at one university, so the findings may not apply to other programmes or later semesters. Attendance was very low in later cycles, and students said the overall semester workload was too high, which limits what can be concluded about the intervention itself. The student interview response rate was 12 of 26, so the feedback may not represent all guided self-study students. Only two retired physiotherapists met the strict tutor criteria, and two additional physiotherapists were used, so the tutor mix may have influenced student attitudes. Missing exam data were replaced with the median value of the original group, which can make the exam results less certain.

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Do not read the significant OSCE differences or the exam pass rates as evidence that guided self-study improves clinical learning. The study's primary outcome was feasibility, and the programme failed its attendance target because only 8 of 26 guided self-study students attended day 8 for at least five cycles.