title: Physiotherapy as bricolage: theorizing expert practice.
abstract: Theories about how knowledge is sought and applied in clinical practice are often referred to as practice epistemologies, and have not been extensively explored in the physiotherapy profession. Tacit assumptions about what counts as physiotherapy knowledge thus form the basis for many approaches to gaining and using information in practice. The purpose of this paper is to propose a physiotherapy practice epistemology, through the notion of the bricoleur, which takes an alternative approach to understanding how knowledge might best be viewed in relation to physiotherapy. The term bricoleur refers to a handyman or handywoman who uses all tools and types of knowledge available. The notion of physiotherapists as bricoleurs recognizes that all practice knowledge is situated within social, cultural, and historical contexts that shape our beliefs about what counts as physiotherapy knowledge. This recognition leads physiotherapists who act as bricoleurs to embrace multiple epistemologies, discovering new ways of knowing and clinical reasoning strategies to provide a more holistic approach to physiotherapy practice. The relationships between expertise in clinical reasoning and the epistemology of the bricoleur are then addressed, explicating the utility of multiple epistemologies in achieving excellent physiotherapy care. A bricoleur's epistemology is then applied to the concept of expertise in physiotherapy, de-stabilizing the notion that a single authoritative approach to the practice of physiotherapy ought to be idealized.
authors: Department of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Elborn College, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. jshaw29@uwo.ca
authors: James A
authors: JA
authors: Shaw
authors: Ryan T
authors: RT
authors: DeForge
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003210:Concept Formation; D003469:Culture; D004517:Education, Professional; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D059825:Physical Therapists / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000193:education; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty / Q000193:education; D011364:Professional Practice; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology*; D011582:Psychological Theory