Jessica Law

Previous work has conjectured that visually impaired athletes may face barriers when attempting concussion assessments because they can present with signs of concussion as part of their condition. The present study aimed to explore the qualitative experiences of visually impaired players undertaking the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5 (SCAT5). Four visually impaired Physical Disability Rugby League players completed the SCAT5 neurological assessment (i.e. read aloud and visual tracking sections) prior to attending an online focus group discussion. Thematic analysis was performed, revealing numerous barriers and consequent additional needs experienced by the athletes. The present results support the removal of the read aloud section from the SCAT5 and suggest that the SCAT6 may thus be a more appropriate assessment tool for visually impaired athletes. Clinicians using the SCAT6 may want to make adjustments to meet the additional needs of visually impaired athletes when completing the visual tracking section.

The Summative Assessment for Musculoskeletal Injuries, an HE4 module at a University in the North of England, did not assess communication skills, therefore, it was not the most appropriate method of assessing clinical competence. An experimental approach was developed to evaluate the students’ clinical experiences gained on their clinical placement at the Sports and Spinal Injures Clinic (SSIC) within the University. The aim was to develop an approach to alter the weighting of the mark scheme for the module to include assessment of communication skills. A group consisting of students, male and female, completed a question online survey before and after clinical experience. The proposed approach allowed alteration to the weighting of marks in the current mark scheme to now include a percentage of marks awarded for communication skills, interpersonal skills, professionalism and differential diagnosis. This will ultimately enhance the assessment of clinical competence and constructive alignment.