Abstract
BackgroundBehaviour can be defined as the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organisms (individuals or groups) to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding responses more easily understood as developmental changes. Unlike personality traits, that are thought to be biologically consistent, behaviour, through the application of cognition and reasoning is open to change across time and circumstance, although most humans will display preferred ways of behaving. The objective of this study was to: i) identify the behaviour styles of physiotherapy students and investigate if there is a relationship (predictive or otherwise) between students’ unique behaviour patterns and their clinical placement grades and; ii) examine if this relationship differs when student’s in a Master’s level program as well as student’s in a Bachelor’s level program are explored separately.MethodsThis cross-sectional study with 132 (F = 78, M = 54) physiotherapy students was conducted across two Australian university settings. Measures included Everything DiSC Workplace profile, Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP).ResultsPhysiotherapy students (n = 133) profiled the following ways: Dominance (D) style n = 20 (15%), Influence (i) style n = 33 (25%), Steadiness (S) style n = 36 (27%) and Conscientiousness (C) n = 44 (33%). Students with the individual DiSC styles of i and Conscientiousness / Steadiness (CS) were in the lowest APP quartile for clinical grades and the D style was in the highest quartile. Binary logistic regressions revealed students with an i DiSC style had 3.96 times higher odds, and students with a CS DiSC style had 4.34 times higher odds, of failing a clinical placement. When explored independently, the same trend remained for Master’s level students. Bachelor’s level students with DiSC styles of S and C had failed placements, however these styles were not significantly associated with failure (DiSC S Style: Exp(B) 1.667, p = 0.713 (CI: 0.109 to 25.433), DiSC C Style: Exp(B) 11.00, p = 0.097 (CI: 0.646 to 187.166)).ConclusionPhysiotherapy students with DiSC styles i and CS appear to be more likely to fail physiotherapy clinical placements. Further research with larger undergraduate samples is required to establish if relations differ for undergraduate versus postgraduate students.
Highlights
IntroductionBehaviour can be defined as the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organisms (individuals or groups) to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding responses more understood as developmental changes
Behaviour can be defined as the internally coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding responses more understood as developmental changes
All DiSC styles are thought to be valuable, and all individuals are a blend of all four styles, understanding physiotherapy students’ preferred behaviour styles may be useful for developing early strategies to encourage and enhance behaviour states in students that are known to result in more successful outcomes in physiotherapy clinical placement environments
Summary
Behaviour can be defined as the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organisms (individuals or groups) to internal and/or external stimuli, excluding responses more understood as developmental changes. Physiotherapy students must demonstrate competence across several clinical areas to successfully complete their program and become registered physiotherapists, and quality learning in clinical settings is critical to their success. Clinical educators in the physiotherapy profession have consistently reported that their assessment of a student’s professional behaviour and communication. Considering the need for health professionals to demonstrate competence in professional behaviour and communication, a percentage of coursework time is expected to be allocated to development in these areas in health professional programs [3,4,5]. The authors of the Everything DiSC [6] propose that by completing the Everything DiSC workplace profile and reflecting on the identified personal drivers for human behaviours, it may be possible for individuals to enhance their communication, rapport and relationships, by modifying their behaviours during short-term interactions with others (e.g. team members, patients, managers) when needed or desired. Students may be able to modify their natural tendency to demonstrate these behaviours in that particular setting, despite the displayed behaviour being different to the students’ preferred behaviour style
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