Table 3 Themes and descriptions from the study

Physiotherapist perception

Formal or informal preparedness for internship before starting internship

• Responders had received no formal preparation for internship from either their training institution or the MRTBN.

• Most responders had informal preparation for internship in form of orientation or advice from training institution upon graduation

• Only 2 out of 9 responders had formal orientation and introduction in their receiving health institution for internship

Expectations before starting internship

• Most of them expected that their clinical work would be supervised by senior physiotherapists, to improve on their clinical skills and to increase their knowledge base on clinical conditions

Nature of experiences during internship

• Only one out of nine responders reported good perception about his experience during internship.

• Most of them had experiences that did not meet the expectations which they had before starting the internship.

Outcome on clinical practice after completing internship

• The outcomes of internship reported by all responders were improved confidence and clinical skills.

General overview and recommendations to improve physiotherapy internship in Nigeria

• Physiotherapy internship was perceived as not properly structured or organized in Nigeria

• Recommendations were from availability of guidelines and instructions from the MRTBN to the receiving health institutions; improved communication between the training institutions and receiving health institutions; improved awareness among clinical physiotherapists about their roles in training interns.