Physical Therapists' Pursuit of an Academic Doctoral Degree: Strategies for Success

Abstract

Introduction. Physical therapy programs are challenged to meet the expectations of a blend of academic and clinical doctorally prepared faculty. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to reveal the specific knowledge and behaviors of physical therapists pursuing an academic doctoral degree that will lead to a successful journey. Methods. An inductive content approach guided data collection and data analysis allowing in-depth exploration of this phenomenon from the participant's perspective. A purposive sampling method was used involving physical therapists with varied experiences with respect to time to completion, program, and institution type in their pursuit of an academic doctoral degree. Results. The doctoral journey is described as facilitated by the individual's ability to (theme 1) create a “good fit” between themselves and the program that they select and (theme 2) use effective strategies to sustain pursuit to completion. Discussion and Conclusion. The lived experience of these participants is consistent with the metaphor of doctoral education being represented as a quest to “become a PhD” rather than a journey to “get a PhD.” Recommendations emerging from the themes were developed to positively influence the number of physical therapists (PTs) who reach completion, the time to completion, and the quality of the experience. Increasing the number of PhD PTs will help combat the growing physical therapy faculty shortage, as well as increase the potential for the production of physical therapy research.