Entry-level Physical Therapist Research Articles

Student Experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

To describe the appropriate experience for entry-level physical therapist students in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Care for infants in the NICU represents a subspecialty within pediatric physical therapy delivered in a very complex environment. Recommendations for designing student educational experiences related to the NICU are provided. Supervised observation is the appropriate level of NICU experience for physical therapy students. Observation in the NICU cannot be used to demonstrate entry-level clinical competency defined as managing 100% patient caseload in the setting. Additional closely supervised experiences with older, less fragile infants and children in neonatal follow-up clinics and pediatric wards can provide opportunities for entry-level physical therapist students interested in pediatrics to participate in examination and intervention with young children.

Complementary and alternative medicine inclusion in physical therapist education in the United States

The purpose of this study was to determine the current prevalence, and at what level, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) content is included in physical therapist (PT) education in the United States. This survey study provides self-report data regarding reasons why faculty members choose to include or not include CAM into programme content. This study investigates the current prevalence of CAM content, and what level of inclusion (minimal, moderate, advanced) in PT curricula will assist programmes as they modify existing curricula and develop new programmes. All 196 US-accredited programmes were included in our survey. An IRB-approved (Investigational Review Board), pilot-tested, two-page survey was emailed to all programme chairpersons of accredited PT programmes. A hard copy survey was mailed to non-responding programmes. Returned surveys were analyzed descriptively to characterize the data shape, tendency and variability. Data were summarized in a frequency distribution and graphically depicted in a histogram for each category. In addition, qualitative analysis was completed for the explanatory data. Forty-seven per cent (92) of all accredited PT programmes (196) responded. Most commonly included CAM areas were: manipulative and body-based methods, alternative medical systems and biologically based therapies. Most frequent responses to limitations to including CAM in PT curriculum were: limited curriculum time, lack of evidence supporting CAM practices and trouble locating qualified CAM presenters. This survey suggests the following: CAM techniques are included in entry-level PT education in the United States; the majority of these techniques are offered at the minimum or exposure level; manipulative and body-based methods, alternative medical systems and biologically based therapies are the most frequently included CAM techniques.

Peer teaching among physical therapy students during human gross anatomy: Perceptions of peer teachers and students

Despite nearly 200 accredited entry-level physical therapist education programs in the United States that culminate in a doctoral degree, only a paucity of reports have been published regarding the efficacy of peer teaching in gross anatomy. No one has described the usefulness of peer teaching from the viewpoint of the peer teacher. An organized peer teaching method provided by four second-year doctors of physical therapy (DPT) students in a semester course in gross anatomy had a positive impact on the academic performance in gross anatomy of first-year DPT students. The unique feature of the weekly peer teaching sessions was a packet assembled by the second-year peer teachers, which contained diagrams, fill-in-the blank questions, and helpful mnemonic devices. This study surveyed perceptions of first-year DPT students in response to a peer teaching method, using a structured 10-item questionnaire and a five-point Likert scale. Second-year DPT peer teachers provided written reflections about the benefits and challenges of serving as a peer teacher. Results revealed that 13 planned peer-teaching experiences provided by four second-year DPT students were valuable and promoted a firm understanding of anatomical relationships important for the clinical competence of physical therapist students. Moreover, peer teachers acknowledged acquiring clinically desirable teaching, academic, organizational, and time management skills from the experience. As a result, physical therapist educators may wish to consider this model of peer teaching to augment their teaching strategies for a class in gross human anatomy.

Neurological Interventions for Physical Therapy, ed 2

Martin S, Kessler M. St Louis, MO 63146, Saunders Elsevier, 2007, paperback, 512 pp, illus, ISBN: 978-0-7216-0427-5, $59.95. An excellent text for the professional (entry-level) physical therapist student, this book also is suitable as a reference for practicing physical therapists interested in both pediatric and adult neurologic patient management. This book is organized into 3 sections. The first section consists of 4 chapters that provide a comprehensive review of anatomy and the foundations of neurologic patient management. Chapter 1 describes the Nagi disablement model and its relationship to the physical therapist's role as described in APTA's Guide to Physical Therapist Practice . Furthermore, this chapter relates the role of the physical therapist to that of the physical therapist …

Assessing Reflection and Higher-order Thinking in the Clinical Setting Using Electronic Discussion Threads

Background and Purpose. Students learn both theory and practical application in the classroom. However, for many, these aspects of clinical practice are not fully comprehended until students encounter real-life situations that require them to analyze, evaluate, modify, and apply what they know. Reflection can help students connect classroom knowledge to clinical practice and enable students to engage in higher-order thinking, moving beyond knowledge and comprehension to analysis, synthesis, and evaluation critical for practice. Integral to effective clinical teaching is the ability to assess outcomes. While the literature offers strategies to facilitate reflection and higher-order thinking, little has been written about the assessment process. The purpose of this study was to design and test a method of assessing reflection and higher-order thinking evident in electronic discussion board threads of students involved in virtual action learning sets in the clinical setting. Subjects. Seven entry-level physical therapist students on their final full-time clinical internship participated in this study. Participants were engaged in a collaborative model of clinical education on an acute rehabilitation unit. Methods. Participants were assigned to 2 groups based on the timing of their internship. Both groups received a 2-hour in-service on reflective practice, submitted critical incidents to an electronic discussion board, and participated in an electronic discussion for 4 weeks. Following the discussion board activity, discussion threads were downloaded and analyzed for the presence of the elements of reflection and levels of higherorder thinking using coding schemas previously reported in the literature. The submissions were coded independently by 3 raters and interrater reliability was assessed by percent agreements and kappa statistics. Results. Moderate to almost perfect levels of agreement between raters were achieved for most of the coding schemas used, with interrater prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa coefficients that ranged from 0.38 to 0.92. Discussion and Conclusion. This study provides a reliable method of assessing reflective thinking and higher-order processing in the clinical setting through the use of electronic discussion boards.

Entry-level physical therapist education in the United States of America

Schools for physical therapist education in the US began in the latter part of the 19th century. The American Physical Therapy Association was formed in 1921 and has assumed a leadership role in fostering the quality and consistency of physical therapist education and practice. Growth in the number and complexity of physical therapist educational programmes during the first half of the 20th century was driven, in large part, by the need for rehabilitation of injured military personnel and by the polio epidemics. Physical therapist education in the US is now firmly embedded in an academic model of higher education and is rapidly converting to the doctoral entry-level degree, similar to other US educational tracks that produce autonomous healthcare practitioners. The future trends in US physical therapist education are seen in the establishment of organised residencies and fellowships. This, in turn, fosters autonomous practice and clinical specialisation.

The Optimal Length of Clinical Internship Experiences for Entry-Level Physical Therapist Students as Perceived by Center Coordinators of Clinical Education: A Pilot Study

Background and Purpose. Clinical education represents a significant segment of the physical therapist education program curriculum and allows students to apply and integrate theory and didactic knowledge to the real world of practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs) with regard to the optimal length of full-time clinical education experience for PT students who have completed their first and final full-time clinical education experiences. Case Description. A pilot study was conducted using an open-format questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to CCCEs at clinical sites across the United States that currently have agreements with American International College (N = 273). Results. A response rate of 57% was obtained. For students in their first full-time clinical education experience, an average of 7.3 ± 2.26 weeks was suggested, with a range of 3-16 weeks. For a student's final full-time clinical education experience, the average was 9.1 ± 2.09 weeks with a range of 5.5-16 weeks. Discussion. The results of this survey support the current trends for those professional programs that require PT students to complete an 8-week clinical experience as part of their first experience. The results also demonstrated a bimodal split in the distribution between a 5-8-week full-time clinical experience and a 9-12-week clinical experience for a student's final clinical experience as expressed by the CCCEs. This study may assist the director of clinical education (DCE) and/or the academic coordinator of clinical education (ACCE) to develop a consensus on the optimal time for the development of skills in the clinical environment. Key Words: Physical therapy, Clinical internship experience, Clinical education. INTRODUCTION Moving professional (entry-level) physical therapist (PT) students into a clinical education experience is an important aspect of a physical therapist education program curriculum and requires careful and deliberate planning on the part of both the educational institution and the clinician. Clinical placements that consider each student's unique needs are optimal. The physical therapist clinical education experience is a relationship fostered between the academic institution and the clinical facility and should ensure an environment that is engaging and provides a critical learning environment.1 Paschal indicated that clinical education in real practice settings, with real patients and with real physical therapists as clinical teachers.2(p257) Clinical education represents a significant segment of the PT curriculum and allows students to apply and integrate theory and didactic knowledge to the real world of practice while under the supervision of clinical instructors. According to Mostrom and Shepard,' physical therapist professional preparation occurs in 2 environments, the classroom and the clinical setting, each of which contribute to the students' learning experience. Integration of the didactic portion of the PT curriculum occurs through the implementation of carefully thought out clinical experiences providing an opportunity for problem solving which occurs as students participate in clinical settings.3 The Division of Physical Therapy at American International College (AIC) in Springfield, Massachusetts, requires all PT students to successfully complete three 8-week full-time clinical education experiences for a total of 24 weeks in order to fulfill the requirement for a master's degree in physical therapy.4 According to the American Physical Therapy Association 2002 Fact Sheet for Physical Therapist Education Programs,5 the average length for a student's final fulltime clinical education experience is 14.5 weeks at the master's level, with a total length of the full-time clinical education experience averaging 27.9 weeks.5 While visiting clinical sites, conversations with the center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs) often lead to questions inquiring if AIC PT students could continue beyond the required 8 full-time clinical experience weeks. …

Perceived Impact on Physical Therapist Students of an International Pro Bono Clinical Education Experience in a Developing Country

Background and Purpose. Many physical therapists (PTs) will encounter patients from various cultures and backgrounds during their careers. A challenge to professional (entry-level) PT curricula is to prepare its graduates for practice in a rapidly changing society in a shrinking world. Nursing and medical curricula have investigated the benefits of international clinical education programs to their students. No research in this area was found in the physical therapy literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived impact of a 1-week physical therapy clinical education experience in Jamaica on the student participants. Subjects. The participants were 8 third-year students in the professional Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program of Arcadia University's class of 2002. Methods. Individual responses to an e-mailed open-ended questionnaire served as the foundation for the focus group discussion in which all eight students participated. The focus group was conducted an average of 5 months after the international experience. Data from the transcribed focus group led to the development of a conceptual model. Categories and themes emerged from additional qualitative analysis of the data. Results. Students perceived benefits of participation in an international clinical education program in four categories: an expanded world-view, an expanded view of physical therapist practice, changes within themselves, and changes within themselves in the role of PT student. Discussion and Conclusion. Results of this study agree with several findings from the nursing and medical literature concerning the perceived benefits of an international educational experience. Physical therapist students appeared to perceive that an international clinical education experience has important, broadening, and lasting benefits to them as professionals, individuals, and members of a global society.

Roles and Responsibilities of Program Administrators as Perceived by Physical Therapist Program Administrators and Faculty

Background and Purpose. The administrator is an essential component of all physical therapist education programs, yet it has received little research attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the roles and responsibilities of the physical therapist administrator as perceived by administrators and teaching faculty in accredited entry-level physical therapist programs. Subjects. There were 96 administrators and 538 teaching faculty who responded and qualified for inclusion in this study. Method. A survey consisting of 45 typical roles a department chair might perform was mailed to all physical therapist faculty and administrators in the United States. The data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics and analyses of variance with post hoc tests where appropriate. Results. The results of this study indicate that physical therapist administrators tend to be older and more experienced, carry higher rank, and do less clinical practice than teaching faculty. The most important roles selected by administrators and teaching faculty included acting as faculty advocate to higher administration, monitoring accreditation standards, evaluating faculty performance to determine raises, and preparing the physical therapist department budget. The least important roles that were common among teaching faculty and administrators included helping students register, monitoring building maintenance, scheduling classes, and selecting new physical therapist students. Discussion and Conclusion. Program administrators and teaching faculty shared a great deal of unanimity regarding the perceived importance of the department chair roles. Important roles of the department chair tended to focus on faculty and department administration, whereas least important roles tended to focus on the student. Gender, years of experience, size of the academic unit, and department chair selection did not affect the views regarding the importance of the department chair roles. Key Words: Administrator role, Departmental chairs (universities), Physical therapy education. INTRODUCTION Physical therapist education is a relatively young profession. In general, physical therapist programs did not shift from hospitals to universities until the 1950s. As health care has changed over time, so has physical therapy education. Physical therapist education programs differ from traditional academic programs in that they must unite broad academic requirements for educational degrees with changing professional standards to improve the quality of health care. These changes continually prompt physical therapist education faculty to keep current in their teaching skills and practice areas. The primary accrediting body for all physical therapist programs, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), initiates new requirements to ensure quality education. Firstlevel unit administrators such as department chairs or directors (hereafter called program administrators) are typically given the responsibility to implement these changes into the physical therapist curriculum. Most physical therapist administrators have come from the clinical health care selling and have worked their way up from teachers to administrators. Few have had any formal training in administration. This lack of training can lead to role uncertainty, which results in increased anxiety, stress, and burnout. Despite the importance of the administrator to physical therapist education, this position has received little research attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of selected roles and responsibilities a physical therapist administrator might perform as perceived by physical therapist administrators and teaching faculty in accredited entry-level physical therapist programs. There were 2 research questions: (1) What are the most and least important roles and responsibilities of the physical therapist administrator as perceived by physical therapist administrators and teaching faculty? …

Selection Criteria for Employment of Entry-Level Physical Therapists: A Survey of New York State Employers

ABSTRACT: High job placement rates and multiple job offers have been common among new physical therapist (PT) graduates. Consequently, no extensive studies exist that have examined the criteria employers consider most important when hiring new PT graduates. Recently, there has been a shift toward a more competitive job market. Considering this new situation, there is an increased need to examine the criteria that may enhance the marketability of new graduates. The purpose of this study was to investigate which skills and qualities are most important to New York State employers in selecting applicants for entry-level PT positions. One hundred twentyeight facilities that employ PTs participated in this study. A survey questionnaire and a cover letter describing the study were sent to 320 facilities in New York State. The sites were selected by simple random sampling from the 677 sites affiliated with members of the New York Physical Therapy Clinical Education Consortium. One hundred twenty-eight facilities responded to the survey (40% response rate). In the survey, employers were asked to rate the importance of 12 specific criteria related to applicant selection with the use of a Likert scale. They were also asked to rank the top three most influential characteristics or to add any other qualities they felt were important when selecting a candidate. To determine the order of importance of the 12 criteria, percentages and the mean of the Likert scale responses were calculated. Data also were analyzed using the chi-square statistic to determine whether any differences existed between desirable characteristics and different types of facilities and respondents. The top three most important criteria sought by New York State employers when hiring entry-level PTs were good written/verbal communication skills, strong professional and time management skills, and experience in this specific type of setting. Chi-square analysis revealed that private practitioners were more likely to rate American Physical Therapy Association membership and the applicants PT education program as more important as compared with other settings; ambulatory care settings rated a masters degree in physical therapy as more important when compared with other settings, and female respondents rated letters of recommendation as more important when compared with male respondents. Within the limitations of this study, strengths in professional behaviors and clinical experience were identified as the important considerations sought by New York State employers. INTRODUCTION High job placement rates and multiple job offers may be a thing of the past for new physical therapist (PT) graduates. Several variables are contributing to predictions that graduates will be facing a much more competitive employment field in the future. Today, it is vital to examine which criteria may enhance jobmarketability of new PT graduates. In the past, it was employers who asked graduates what they were looking for. However, at present, it seems much more valuable for graduates to find out what employers are looking for in a new employee. The purpose of this study was to explore which skills and qualities are most important to New York State employers in selecting applicants for entry-level PT positions. This information may provide guidance to new PT graduates, as well as to the education programs that prepare them, regarding the expectations of a select group of current PT employers. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Current Trends in Physical Therapy Job Market In the past, the supply of licensed PTs and the demand for their services revealed a shortage of PTs.1 Recently, however, there have been conflicting views on the future of the physical therapy job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that physical therapy will continue as one of the fastest growing occupations through the year 2005. However, the Vector Report, commissioned by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), projects a 20% to 30% surplus of PTs by the year 2005. …

Interdisciplinary Health Assessment of the Older Individual: A Conceptual Framework for Curricular Integration

Background and Purpose. Evidence indicates that interdisciplinary health assessment of the older adult improves identification of needs and referral to appropriate services, as well as improving quality of life. Objectives. The objectives of this article are: (1) to dif ferentiate between and summarize evidence in support of a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to health assessment of the older adult, (2) to provide a conceptual framework for fostering interdisciplinary geriatric education, and (3) to describe challenges encountered in implementing interdisciplinary educational strategies for the professional (entry-level) physical therapist student. Framework. Three broad curricular elements are proposed as the foundation for progressing the physical therapist student toward multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary health care practice for the older adult: (1) the student must develop into a competent practitioner, with a scientific understanding of the varied motor control changes potentially encountered by the older adult, (2) the student must understand the indications for a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary health care assessment and respect the roles of other professionals in the health care assessment of the complex older adult, and (3) the student must gain a practical understanding of the dynamics involved in team decision making and prioritization of treatment approaches. Approaches to addressing these curricular goals within one curriculum are described and critiqued. Betty Smith is a 78-year-old woman who arrives at the doctor's office with chief complaints of knee pain and difficulty doing her grocery shopping. She has lost 5 lb in the last year, and radiology reports reveal midstage degenerative joint disease in both knees. The physician prescribes anti-inflammatory medication, an analgesic, and a referral to a physical therapist for gait training with an assistive device. The physical therapist discovers that Betty also has problems with balance and fatigue and learns that her fear of falling has resulted in increased avoidance of activities outside the home. After examination and treatment, the physical therapist discharges Betty as independent with an assistive device on level surfaces and on stairs with rails. Betty does not take her anti-inflammatory medication because it causes digestive problems. Betty continues to have pain, balance problems, fear of falling, and fear of going outside, resulting in the continued decline in her functional abilities and inability to shop adequately for her groceries. Loretta Sizemore is an 80-year-old woman whose complaints and diagnoses are similar to Betty's. Loretta attends an interdisciplinary geriatric clinic and receives services as follows: (1) the pharmacist recommends an analgesic that does not interfere with balance, (2) the physical therapist recommends physical therapy for gait training with an assistive device, exercises to improve strength and balance, an evaluation for assistive equipment at home, and education to develop strategies to confront her fear of falling, (3) the social worker connects Loretta to appropriate community meal programs to help her obtain better nutrition, counseling services to address her depressive symptoms, and church and community resources for socialization and spiritual guidance, and (4) the physician makes a referral for a nutritional assessment to educate Loretta about her dietary needs. Betty and Loretta typify patients whose pathology (osteoarthritis) neither explains nor predicts the functional limitations and overall decrease in quality of life experienced by these individuals. It may not be reasonable to assume that one health care professional can effectively assess all of the factors that need to be addressed in clinical management of the person with complex and chronic health problems. A coordinated team representing multiple disciplines can provide a cohesive and thorough assessment and treatment plan for the person with multiple needs. …

Managerial perspectives on health care service delivery

The purpose of this study was to garner expert opinion from health care (HC) (n = 68) and non-HC (n = 15) managers on the issues likely to impact the work of entry level physical therapists and qualities for employment success. Students enrolled in a professional phase physical therapy (PT) course conducted 83 manager interviews. The authors arrived at consensus regarding manager opinions on important HC issues and qualities for employment success with a modified Delphi technique. The Chi-square test was used to determine if HC issues and employment qualities differed among the managers' professions and settings. PT managers (n = 50) found ancillary staff use to be a more important HC issue than did other HC managers (n = 18), 68.0% versus 27.8%, respectively (p = 0.009). Otherwise, PT managers were similar to other HC managers in their opinions on the pertinent HC issues. HC managers reported business skills to be not as essential for career success as non-HC managers did (n = 15), 22.1% versus 66.7%, respectively (p = 0.001). Managers in outpatient settings indicated a strong work ethic to be of greater importance than did managers in other HC settings (p = 0.052). These findings support the use of innovative instructional strategies that offer students multiple perspectives on the realities of HC to optimize employment success.

Comparison of the Student/Site Computer Matching Program and Manual Matching of Physical Therapy Students in Clinical Education

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of the newly developed Student/Site Computer-Assisted Matching Program (SSCAMP) from the American Physical Therapy Association with the results of a manual student matching program used in a physical therapist program. The author hypothesized that the computer-assisted matching program would reduce the time for matching of students and that the matches would not be significantly different than those done with the manual matching method. One class of first-year professional (entry-level) physical therapist students were matched using both the new SSCAMP and the previously utilized manual matching method. Comparisons were made between the manual matching method and the computer-assisted matching process for time expenditures used in the matching process and for differences in successful student matches. Time expenditures (in hours), frequency distributions, and percentages of successful matches are reported, as well as a chi-square statistic to compare the differences in successful matches between the two methods. The author's results suggest that there was no significant difference between the computermatched site assignments and the manual method site assignments. Less time was used for the computer-assisted matching method. The author also observed anecdotally that students adopted a more self-directed style for decision making about their clinical placements. Because there was a time reduction for student placements and because the matches were similar under both methods, the computer-assisted matching will be the method of choice for student/clinical site matching at this physical therapist program. INTRODUCTION The process of student clinical assignment in a physical therapy program has traditionally involved many task hours for the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) or the Director of Clinical Education (DCE) for hand-matching of students to available clinical sites. With the increase in student enrollment, limited time of the ACCE/DCE because of other faculty responsibilities, and time spent soliciting site placements from many facilities, the time to complete this large task has increased. With an increase in the number of physical therapy programs, there have been increased demands to streamline the placement process so that clinical sites have information on their student placements more quickly. Time is, therefore, a key issue in both the placement process and the communication of this information to the clinical sites. In addition to the time issues, the process of hand-matching students to clinical sites is subjective and may be guided by preconceived ideas about a student by the ACCE/DCE. Because the matching process has primarily been done by the ACCE/DCE, reviewing students' preferences and then matching those preferences to site availability, there are concerns of bias toward certain students and fairness about placements. The manual matching process puts the ultimate control for site placement with the ACCE/DCE and tends to foster a more passive participation by the student in this placement process. With a shift of degree levels to master's degree and professional (entry-level) doctorate, the age of students in today's physical therapy programs has increased, with an increased focus on adult learning. A physical therapy program may choose to foster more self-directed learning and increased responsibility for aspects of professional development. Shifting from a manual matching process to another method of placement that puts an increased responsibility on students for their clinical site selections would foster these concepts. A greater number of education programs, as well as students, now have knowledge about and access to computer technology. Professional education programs may have computer laboratory space available for student use, and many students now utilize various computer software programs with ease. …

The Effectiveness of Three Teaching Methods for Gait Analysis Using the Rancho Los Amigos Gait Analysis Checklist

The development of effective observational gait analysis skills allows physical therapist students to make successful clinical decisions and provide appropriate treatment strategies for optimum patient function. This study compared three methods of teaching gait analysis to entry-level physical therapist students. Forty-nine first-year physical therapist students were placed into one of three research groups: (1) explanation of the Rancho Los Amigos (RLA) tool only, (2) explanation of the RLA tool and application of the tool utilizing a videotape of normal gait, and (3) explanation of the RLA tool and application of the tool using a volunteer with normal gait in real time. All students and “master clinicians” then viewed the gait of two subjects (a volunteer with no known gait deviations and a patient with multiple sclerosis) in real time. Students who viewed the videotape demonstrated greater agreement with “master clinicians” in scoring on the RLA gait analysis form than did those students who had an explanation of the RLA form only and those students who observed the volunteer subject in real time. Students showed greater agreement with “master clinicians” in scoring gait deviations in the patient with multiple sclerosis. Additionally, students showed inconsistent scoring of gait deviations at the pelvis for both subjects during all phases of gait. “Master clinicians” showed strong agreement in scoring gait deviations for the patient with multiple sclerosis but had poor interrater reliability in rating the volunteer subject. The results of this study suggest that videotape training on the RLA gait analysis form by physical therapist students provides consistent performance in evaluating gait deviations of patients with neurological disorders.

Predictive Variables for Academic and Clinical Success of Entry-level Physical Therapists: Instrumentation Phase. Clinton TRy Curfman SE, Elliott LA, Jones KR (presenter), Mann DH; Shenandoah University-Winchester Medical Center Program in Physical Therapy Winchester, VA.

Predictive Variables for Academic and Clinical Success of Entry-level Physical Therapists: Instrumentation Phase. Clinton TRy Curfman SE, Elliott LA, Jones KR (presenter), Mann DH; Shenandoah University-Winchester Medical Center Program in Physical Therapy Winchester, VA.

Perceptions of physical therapy competencies in rheumatology. Physical therapists versus rheumatologists.

The purpose of this article is to report the differences in perceptions among three groups of respondents who assessed the importance of 80 competencies for entry-level physical therapists who treat patients with arthritis. Nonparametric statistics were used to analyze the responses of physical therapists and rheumatologists who completed a questionnaire regarding the competencies. I used the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance to make group comparisons and the Mann-Whitney U test to complete pair-wise comparisons. The results revealed significant differences of opinion among the groups (p = .007) for 20 of the 80 competencies. The significant differences in opinion were among physical therapy clinical educators (n = 100), physical therapy arthritis health professionals (n = 108), and rheumatologists (n = 80). Although the results suggested that some groups perceived certain physical therapy competencies in rheumatology to be useful but not essential for the entry-level physical therapist to perform, considerable variability existed within groups. Despite the variance in opinions, teaching of these competencies should be included in the entry-level physical therapy curriculum or in clinical settings.

Physical therapy competencies in rheumatology.

Physical therapists and rheumatologists in the United States were surveyed to determine what they perceived as the necessary competencies in rheumatology for the entry-level physical therapist. Physical therapists in clinical education programs (n = 100), those who belonged to the Arthritis Health Professionals Association (n = 108), and rheumatologists belonging to the American Rheumatism Association (n = 80) responded to a questionnaire consisting of items related to educational variables of interest, professional experience, and 80 competencies. The respondents determined that 35 competencies were absolutely essential, 39 were frequently essential, and 6 were useful but not essential. Identification of these competencies should assist the faculty in physical therapy educational programs to prepare the entry-level physical therapist to be competent to treat arthritis patients.