Yasir is in the process of conducting scoping reviews in order to establish the landscape in terms of simulation, Physiotherapy, and undergraduate education. Their following step will be to build a needs assessment study. They will reach out to key stakeholders to consult them on which skills students should learn before commencing their clinical placements. “Because, of course, there are so many skills. And we can’t teach them everything in a simulation session. So, we will target those skills that educators see as most important.”

Currently, they are in the literature review phase of their research. Yasir looks forward to identifying the required skills and developing a simulation session. At that point, the team will have to decide either to work with mannequins or recruit actors to play the roles of patients. This will depend on the techniques and practices they ultimately decide to focus on: “If you’re going to target communication skills, for example, mannequins are not the best.” But whatever their choice, their research will be supported by the “amazing facility in RCSI Simulation. It’s a huge department with high-end technology.”

What skills, if any, does he anticipate they will cover in their simulation sessions? In his review so far, he has noticed many students have difficulty in specialised aspects of respiratory therapy: “An example is when they have to put a tube in through the nose to remove secretion. Even though some skills like transfers look very simple to do, students can still struggle.” Right now, he is focusing on international literature, so more time is needed to assess whether Irish students struggle with these specific tasks.

Looking at his research focuses as his career has progressed, there is a huge diversity of interests. From exploring musculoskeletal disorders in chefs during his bachelor’s degree, through evaluating respiratory muscle assessments for patients on mechanical ventilators as a master’s researcher, and on to developing a simulation curriculum, it is clear that Yasir is eager to explore new opportunities that come his way. “You're always keen to learn a lot of different things, but you also have to make decisions about your speciality.” He explains that he eventually had to choose between musculoskeletal or cardiovascular respiratory physiotherapy, and it was the second that he ultimately decided to pursue further.

He is also in the process of obtaining a physiotherapy licence from Ireland’s authorised body for regulating health and social care professionals, CORU, so that he can continue in clinical practice. He is cognisant of the importance of working on the clinical skills he himself gained during his placements as his work is in educating others in these practices.

His typical week in RCSI is, therefore, busy with research. He collaborates frequently with his supervisors, as they too are working in simulation. He also has a shared office with several other postdocs and PhD students in the RCSI building. He tends to work there, because of the opportunities to socialise with his peers: “There are so many great researchers. It's always nice to go chat with them, and discuss any challenges as they come up. As a PhD student, I think you need people around you who are very supportive and experienced, who are always ready to help you in your journey. I think a PhD journey cannot be done alone.”

For anyone else interested in starting a journey into physiotherapy research, he advises them to be ready for the “bad days” as well as the good: “You will have some bad days in research. It doesn’t matter what stage you are at. When that happens, you need to be persistent, and always think about the end goals. If the road looks rocky or full of pebbles, just put on your shoes and start walking. That’s the only way you will reach them.”

“When the challenges are bigger, the outcome is much greater” he reflects. “There are a lot of opportunities in simulation right now. And that's what I'm trying to do right now: to dig up those opportunities, work on them, and share them with the world.”