From learner to trainer: efficacy of a wheelchair skills bootcamp with embedded learner teaching

Objective To evaluate a 2-day wheelchair skills bootcamp in which learners (licenced occupational and physical therapists) received train-the-trainer training, from instructors that included wheelchair users with lived experience, and then applied that training by teaching trainees (students and wheelchair users).Methods Seventeen learners, 17 student trainees, and 5 wheelchair user trainees participated in a cohort study with pre- and post-training comparisons. Learners completed skill acquisition and train-the-trainer instruction during 6-hours of training on day 1, and then sequentially trained student and wheelchair user trainees on day 2. Wheelchair skill performance and confidence were assessed for all participants using the Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire (WST-Q). Learners reported self-efficacy in training and wheelchair user trainees’ progress towards individualised goals was assessed using a goal attainment approach. Feedback was collected on course satisfaction and content.Impact Learners improved in self-efficacy (46%), wheelchair skill performance (38%), and confidence (41%) (all p < 0.001). Student trainees improved in performance (23%) and confidence (28%) (both p < 0.001). Wheelchair user trainees improved in performance (40%, p = 0.007) and confidence (14%, p = 0.025); among 23 goals set, goal achievement was extremely well for most (70%); wheelchair users reported high satisfaction with training (91%). A bootcamp with wheelchair users as co-instructors, in which learners immediately applied their training by teaching others, produced measurable improvements in wheelchair skills and training self-efficacy across clinicians, students, and wheelchair users.