Mag.^a Dr.ⁱⁿ Margit Eidenberger

Following a cooperation request a treaty was signed between medical staff of the Hemodialysis Ward (Steyr hospital), the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Steyr hospital) and the University of Applied Sciences for Health Professions Upper Austria. This cooperation comprises of six bachelor theses, proposals are already accomplished. Currently, the students are writing their theses, which should be finished at the end of January 2025.

Professional Identity (PI) has been defined as an ongoing transformative evolutionary process. PI is the adoption of specific beliefs, attributes and (ethical) values and experiences to become a member of a profession or the way individuals „think and act in line with the… group, … expressed by normative behaviour and loyalty”. Lacking clarity of PI can lead negatively to a professional’s attenuated perceived self-value, can weaken the profession itself and the confidence in performing her/his role. On the other hand, a well-developed concept of one’s PI can lead to enhanced professional confidence and a better exercise of the profession chosen.

In Austria, as in many other countries, the older population continues to grow. Often elderly people prefer staying in their own homes for as long as they can, and only move into a nursing home at a later stage in their lives or only if need be. However, to respond to this important and understandable request for independence, family members and informal caregivers have to take on challenging responsibilities. Our project aims to support these individuals in home care for elderly people.

E-learning is defined as „all types of learning with the use of digital media, either the presentation or the distribution of learning material or the communication between students and teachers“ (Kerres und Preußler 2012). In physiotherapy education parts of lessons could be added by e-learning, to offer students the opportunity to learn and repeat at their own responsibilty.

The Klippel-Trenaunay-Syndrome is a rare congenital development disorder of the vessels, which are linked with multiple vessel malformations in the arterial, venous and lymphatic area. Due to the rarity of the disease there is currently very little evidence on treatments and the majority of these are in the form of Case Reports.

Rationale, Aims and Objectives: Research examining the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in physical therapy in many countries has revealed positive attitudes, varying degrees of EBP use and barriers at practitioner-, patient- and organizational levels. In contrast to these countries, Austria does not have an academic or research tradition in physical therapy.