Susana Maranchón Pérez1, María José Vivas Broseta1, David Garrido Jaén1, Francisca Peydro Moya1, Cristina Herrera Ligero1, Salvador Pitarch Corresa1, Enrique Medina Ripoll1, José María Baydal Bertomeu, Amparo López Vicente, Alberto Ferreras Remesal1, Raquel Portilla Parrilla 1, Ignacio Bermejo Bosch1&2
(1) Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV) Universitat Politècnica de València (Edificio 9C) Camino de Vera s/n (E-46022) Valencia (Spain)
(2) The IBV Health Technology Group, Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine CIBER (CIBER-BBN)
The Master’s Degree in Clinical Biomechanical Assessment was created in 2014 as a result of collaboration between the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV) and the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV). Six editions and 220 students later, we look back to reflect on and assess the aspects that have made it possible for us to continue to be a benchmark in quality biomechanical training, at home and abroad.
INTRODUCTION
The Master's Degree in Clinical Biomechanical Assessment (MVBC) is a degree offered specifically by the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV) and affiliated to the Institute of Mechanical and Biomechanical Engineering (I2MB). It was created in 2014 as a result of collaboration between the UPV and the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV). Six years later, we look back to reflect on and assess the aspects that have made it possible for us to continue to be a benchmark in quality biomechanical training, at home and abroad.
DEVELOPMENT
What does the Master’s Degree consist of?
Within the UPV’s ongoing training offer, this Master’s Degree is the highest-level specific postgraduate course that the University offers. Its purpose is to train professionals in Health Sciences, or similar, to develop and carry out clinical assessment tests through biomechanical analysis techniques, and to interpret the main results obtained, addressed to the clinical field.
In addition, the Master's Degree:
- Provides sufficient knowledge and skills to know how to correctly select biomechanical assessment methodologies, to carry out tests and interpret the results of the techniques/methodologies related to biomechanics that are most used in the clinical field in our environment.
- It allows students to understand the fundamentals on which biomechanics are based and to know their possible applications in relation to the assessment of the musculoskeletal system, expert medical appraisals, the management of labor contingencies and, secondarily, the ergonomic assessment of a workspace and certain examples of the assessment of sports gestures.
- It provides complementary knowledge and skills to biomechanical assessment that are of interest in the clinical field, relating to: ergonomics, qualitative social research techniques, disabilities, health management, signal analysis, statistics, and the execution of research projects in the field of biomechanics.
- It shares with its students more than 40 years of experience in biomechanical assessment accumulated by the professionals of the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV) and other professionals dedicated to clinical biomechanical assessment in their main fields of implementation.
What is its Curriculum?
The Master’s Degree in Clinical Biomechanical Assessment (60 ECTS) consists of one academic year distributed into two four-month periods in which 14 subjects are taught (including the Master's Dissertation). The curriculum also contemplates two additional degrees, the Diploma of Specialization in Biomechanical Assessment (33 ECTS) and that of University Expert in Biomechanical Analysis in the Clinical Field (19.5 ECTS), which are taught simultaneously. Completing the course, in any of the three modalities, grants the right to obtain the corresponding UPV-specific degree. Furthermore, students can do an internship at the IBV to broaden their knowledge of the subject.
What type of student is it aimed at?
This Master's Degree is aimed at Health Science professionals. The professional profile of the students is mainly clinical: doctors and physiotherapists; however, some of our students have also been occupational therapists, podiatrists, pharmacists, ortho-prosthetists, graduates in physical activities and sports sciences, and engineers (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Students from different editions of the Master’s Degree
Throughout these 6 editions, we have trained over 220 students from Spain and many Latin American countries, such as Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, the Republic of El Salvador , Guatemala, and even some from Italy.
Where is it taught?
The methodology of the Master’s Degree combines online training and in-person practical training. Practical lessons are mainly taught at the IBV’s biomechanical, anthropometric and morphometric assessment and co-creation laboratories (Figure 2), but they also include sessions in the biomechanical facilities and laboratories at UMIVALE (Mutual Collaborator with Social Security, no. 15) and the Rehabilitation Service of the Arnau de Vilanova-Lliria Health Department.
Figure 2. In-person practical sessions with students at the IBV’s biomechanical assessment laboratories
During 2020, an atypical year, students have been able to carry out their practical lessons online in a synchronous manner, as well as in-person (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Training via streaming, using the UPV’s Teams app, with the students of the 6th edition
The online training of the Master's Degree adapts to the students’ schedules because the contents are available 24/7 in the IBV Virtual Campus. This flexible timetable allows students to constantly advance in their studies, regardless of their country of origin and their own professional and personal responsibilities.
In-person sessions are condensed into just two weeks throughout the year, one in June and another one in November. They are dynamic and highly participative: students can use the biomechanical assessment labs autonomously, applying what they have learnt and being advised by experts on the subject. The practical sessions are highly appreciated by students of the three degrees, as they are a unique opportunity to share and complete their knowledge with fellow students and teachers.
Who are the teachers?
More than 30 teachers intervene in each edition (https://master.ibv.org/profesorado). A large part of the contents is taught by experts in biomechanical assessment at the IBV, but also by other experts in clinical biomechanical assessment in different fields, such as child rehabilitation, vestibular rehabilitation, rehabilitation of neurological injuries, assessment of disabilities, physical injury assessment...
We also enjoy the support of prestigious entities, some of which collaborate with the teaching (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Entities that support and collaborate with the Master’s Degree
What can be achieved with the Master’s Degree?
The Master’s Degree provides skills that are essential for applying clinical biomechanical assessment in different jobs, depending on the student’s basic training. Students can find career opportunities in:
• Biomechanical assessment laboratories in medical centers, Mutual Collaborators with Social Security, or insurance companies.
• Rehabilitation and physiotherapy services with an interest in clinical biomechanical assessment.
• Exercise of medical-legal expertise in cases involving biomechanical assessment.
• Application of biomechanical assessment in the management of labor contingencies.
• Assessment of physical injuries in the field of clinical biomechanical assessment.
• Corporate medical services or prevention departments with an interest in clinical biomechanical assessment.
• Companies that distribute medical devices for biomechanical assessment.
• Research into clinical biomechanical assessment.
It also provides skills that can be applied in the prevention of labor risks, physical activities and sports, occupational therapy, or technical orthopedics, as well as physiotherapy and all other medical specializations with an interest in the functional assessment of the musculoskeletal system.
How can we improve the Master’s Degree?
Throughout the entire training process, we take the students' satisfaction into account, we accompany them with tutorials, and we carry out a follow-up with constant motivation. In this way, training is provided in a generalized way, but learning takes place with personalized attention.
In this sense, we actively listen to our students so we can respond to their needs and the real demands of professionals dedicated to biomechanical assessment, and the Master’s Degree has improved from one edition to the next, thanks to the students’ critical contributions. The website of the Master’s Degree includes a good number of opinions from our ex-students, such as the one presented below.
CONCLUSIONS
Each of the aforementioned aspects have been key to maintaining the teaching of the Master’s Degree over these 6 years that we have been training professionals.
This is how we teach and train people whose interest in these subjects is present in their day-to-day lives. And at the same time, we hope that they continue to grow academically and professionally, like us, and with us. That is still our challenge: to continue to be a benchmark in Clinical Biomechanical Assessment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The teaching staff at the Clinical Biomechanical Assessment Master’s Degree (https://master.ibv.org/profesorado) and the students of the 6 editions. UMIVALE (Mutual Collaborators with Social Security, no. 15) and the Rehabilitation Service of the Arnau de Vilanova-Lliria Health Department and all the other entities that have expressed their support (https://master.ibv.org/). The Universitat Politècnica de València and the Institute of Mechanical and Biomechanical Engineering.
