
My name is Anton Barnett-Harris and I am the CEO with the Australian Physiotherapy Council (the Council), which is the accreditation authority for the physiotherapy profession. We partner with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia to provide accreditation services for over 58 programs in 21 Universities in Australia. We also assess over 500 internationally qualified physiotherapists each year, who are seeking to be registered and practice physiotherapy in Australia. The Council provides similar accreditation services for the Physiotherapy Board of NZ as well.
Over the past few years, the Council’s focus has been filtered through the prism of the “looking glass” – the strange, mysterious, parallel world that imminently awaits us and yet, in so many ways, is already here. A future where technology, health and human-centred design intersect. A world where the best of humanity shines and the normal everyday tasks are subsumed by technological changes.
I would like to introduce this session together by sharing with you a Social Media Campaign the Council produced and globally launched in 2019 with the help of renowned futurist, Morris Miselowski.
The inspiration for the campaign was to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Council. Some may ask why would an accreditation authority produce a video like this? SIMPLE. We believe that accreditation, assessment and regulation, have a deeply vested interest in what lies ahead in an ever-changing global context.
As we work with our University partners, we now KNOW there are critical questions to consider about the future of physiotherapy. Questions which include: What are the future skills physiotherapists will need to possess? What future environments will our physiotherapists work in? and how will they practice in a safe and effective way? These are just some of the key questions that we as regulators, education providers and stakeholders need to be wrestling with and responding to now.
We already see global trends such as:
What we thought of as being breakthrough ten years ago are now basic expectations. Example – Just consider the expectations around the quality of your camera on your smartphone and think that the first iPhone was released in 2007!
So what do we predict is coming?
There are many penetrating reports on the future of technology that any one of us can Google to keep abreast of some of the rapid changes. One recent paper from Accenture called TECHNOLOGY VISION 2019 :THE POST-DIGITAL ERA IS UPON US is a fascinating read.
Accenture talk about a post digital age –
“We as a society are nearing a turning point in digital enterprise, where more businesses will have completed their digital transformations than not. Digital-era technology, which began as a differentiating advantage years ago, is now expected from every business.”
They highlight 4 global trends that we should be positioned to respond to in the next 10 years flowing from this post-digital world, which I thought were really insightful.
Does anyone else feel just a little overwhelmed and wonder how to keep up? And what does all this have to do with regulation and accreditation anyway? What might it mean for education providers?
At the Council, we are seeing a demand for things like “micro-credentialing”, a radical change in expectations of learners with regards to technology solutions and just-in-time learning.
What does the world of post-digital education look like? What does the world of post-digital healthcare look like? These are questions we have to grapple with…These are the questions we can’t afford to ignore!
Consider this verity: we’re now living in a “post-digital era” and we need to consider how it will affect your world and your role in accreditation and regulation.
So what do you need to adjust to keep relevant?
Thank you.