POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access

Development, implementation and evaluation ofa podiatry led “high risk foot” student clinic atthe Queensland University of TechnologyDamien Clark1,2*, Lloyd Reed1,4, Ewan M Kinnear2, Peter A Lazzarini1,2,3

From Australasian Podiatry Council Conference 2011Melbourne, Australia. 26-29 April 2011

BackgroundDiabetic foot complications are acknowledged as theleading cause of amputation and diabetes-related hospi-talisation. Podiatry-led multi-disciplinary clinics arerecognised as important strategies to improve diabeticfoot outcomes. Data suggests diabetic foot complicationsare increasing at a faster rate than diabetes is beingdiagnosed. A reliable, competent workforce is urgentlyrequired to adequately manage patients with diabetesfoot complications. Clinical training is known to have abeneficial impact on diabetic foot ulcer outcomes. Asthe basis for podiatry clinical training occurs at theundergraduate level in Australia, the development ofstudents equipped with best practice skills to managethe growing population of diabetic foot complications isessential. The aim of this paper is to develop, implementand evaluate a student led “high risk foot” clinic andevaluate its impact on undergraduate learning and dia-betic foot outcomes.

MethodsIn January 2011 a designated Queensland University ofTechnology (QUT)/ Queensland Health (QH) “high riskfoot” podiatry led student clinic will commence on theQUT campus with support from the QUT/QH clinicaleducator and other senior podiatrists. To complementthe student clinical experience, placements in QH “highrisk” foot services and exposure to simulation trainingin high risk foot management will be fostered. Primaryevaluation will be undertaken quarterly and involveaddressing satisfaction and clinical competencies.

Surveys will be obtained from students, clinical supervi-sors and placement supervisors. Further evaluation ofstudents’ diabetic foot clinical indicators and patientoutcomes will also be evaluated.

ResultsThe presentation will review the initial planning andimplementation of the “high risk foot” student clinic atQUT. The first three month evaluation will be presentedat the conference.

ConclusionsThe explosion of diabetic foot complications requires awell skilled workforce. Undergraduate education remainsat the core of podiatry learning in Australia. The devel-opment of student “high risk foot” clinics may be aninnovative and effective strategy to meet the needs ofAustralia’s diabetic foot complications. It is envisagedtwo years worth of data will be analysed and presentedto the 2013 Australasian Podiatry Conference.

Author details1School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,Australia. 2Department of Podiatry, Metro North Health Service District,Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia. 3Allied Health Research Collaborative,Metro North Health Service District, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia.4Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University ofTechnology, Brisbane, Australia.

Published: 20 May 2011

doi:10.1186/1757-1146-4-S1-P9Cite this article as: Clark et al.: Development, implementation andevaluation of a podiatry led “high risk foot” student clinic at theQueensland University of Technology. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research2011 4(Suppl 1):P9.

* Correspondence: d1.clark@qut.edu.au1School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,AustraliaFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

Clark et al. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2011, 4(Suppl 1):P9http://www.jfootankleres.com/content/4/S1/P9

JOURNAL OF FOOTAND ANKLE RESEARCH

© 2011 Clark et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction inany medium, provided the original work is properly cited.