A Model for Teaching Financial Literacy in a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Using the Five Stages of Career Development

Abstract

Purpose: The cost of higher education programs across allied health disciplines have increased substantially in recent years while salaries have remained relatively stagnant. The result of which is an increase in debt burden for graduates of allied health professional programs. One possible intervention to improve the experience of graduates is to improve financial literacy; however, research on the effectiveness of financial literacy education in higher education is scant. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the effectiveness of a financial literacy and career planning seminar in a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. Specifically, this study aimed to (1) describe the implementation of a novel career planning and financial literacy workshop as an additional component of a required physical therapy administration course in a DPT program, and to (2) understand the outcomes and effectiveness of the model utilized. Methods: This study included a single cohort pre/post design and between subject analysis. DPT students completed a pre- and post-survey before and after attending a 1-hour asynchronous career planning and financial literacy workshop. The survey included questions to capture students’ knowledge and confidence in financial literacy. Results: Overall, 80 DPT students completed the pre-survey and 54 DPT students completed the post-survey. The group of 55 participants that completed the post-workshop knowledge portion of the survey (M=87%, SD 220.72) demonstrated significantly better knowledge scores t(124) = 7.44, p < .05 compared to the group of 77 participants that completed the pre-workshop knowledge portion of the survey (M = 67%, SD 282.31). The group of 53 participants that completed the post-workshop confidence portion of the survey (M=35.79%, SD 27.09) demonstrated significantly improved confidence on the post-workshop survey t(130) = 2.75, p < .05 compared to the group of 79 participants that completed the pre-workshop confidence portion of the survey (M = 32.62, SD 64.57). Conclusion: A 1-hour workshop can be effective at improving knowledge and confidence in financial literacy of DPT students, and it can be implemented in existing DPT curricula without considerable time or added credit hours.