Abstract

Background
Learning with patients and members of the public is increasingly recognised as enriching healthcare education through lived experience, positioning patients as active partners in learning rather than passive recipients of care. However, little is known about how students and patients learn together and negotiate meanings, relationships, and professional identities within digitally mediated environments. Understanding these relational dimensions is important for preparing practitioners capable of working collaboratively to deliver person-centred, high-quality physiotherapy services. This study explored the value of Patient, Carer and Public Involvement (PCPI) participants in co-produced telehealth simulation workshops by examining how students and patients negotiated learning, participation, professional identity, and meaning through digitally mediated interactions.

Methods
A qualitative study informed by symbolic interactionism was conducted within an undergraduate physiotherapy programme at the University of Sunderland. Final-year physiotherapy students (n=11) and PCPI participants (n=5) who had participated in co-produced telehealth simulation workshops were recruited using purposive sampling. PCPI participants represented themselves rather than scripted patient roles, enabling authentic dialogue and engagement with lived experience. Semi-structured interviews informed by appreciative inquiry principles explored participants’ experiences of learning and participation. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis.

Results
Learning emerged through reciprocal participation, dialogue, and engagement with lived experience. PCPI participants contributed as active partners in learning rather than passive subjects of educational activities, supporting the co-construction of understandings of contemporary physiotherapy practice and professional identity. Participants described learning with and from one another, challenging traditional distinctions between teacher, learner, and patient. Authenticity emerged through meaningful interactions and engagement with lived experience rather than through technological fidelity alone. The workshops created psychologically safe spaces that supported confidence, reflexive learning, and open dialogue, fostering reciprocal learning and meaningful partnerships between students and PCPI participants. These findings suggest that co-produced learning environments support relational approaches to practice and prepare students for collaborative working within contemporary digitally enabled healthcare systems.

Conclusion
Co-produced telehealth simulation workshops supported students' preparation for future practice while creating participatory spaces in which understandings of contemporary physiotherapy practice were negotiated. Positioning PCPI participants as active partners in learning supported the development of reflexive, relational, and person-centred practitioners. These findings provide evidence for co-created educational models that strengthen communication, connections, and partnerships, offering insights for digitally enabled physiotherapy services that value lived experience and support high-quality person-centred care.