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Landers MR, Deusinger SS. Building the Science of Physical Therapy: Conundrums and a Wicked Problem. Phys Ther 2023; 103:pzad078. [PMID: 37384410 DOI: 10.1093/ptj/pzad078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Producing science that supports the physical therapist profession in all its endeavors is critical to ensure that the best evidence is used in practice and education. In this Perspective, numerous conundrums are discussed that can constrain efforts to be productive in research in the academic institutions that serve as the intellectual centers of the discipline. Taken together, these conundrums and the conditions that create them collectively contribute to the wicked problem of how to generate sufficient evidence to support the practice of physical therapy. In response, this Perspective recommends changes in the Standards and Elements of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education to support the importance of faculty research, reconfigure the rules for faculty composition, and introduce a new metric of productivity that reinforces the need of all programs to produce evidence for the profession, while still allowing flexibility and institutional prerogative to govern how this need is expressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merrill R Landers
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Susan S Deusinger
- Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Nunes GS, Adami SL, Pellenz MM, Rigo D, Estivalet RA, Diel AP, Benincá IL, Haupenthal A. Toward scientific dissemination of undergraduate thesis in physical therapy programs - a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ 2022; 22:32. [PMID: 35016663 PMCID: PMC8753828 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-021-03087-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The execution of undergraduate thesis is a period in which students have an opportunity to develop their scientific knowledge. However, many barriers could prevent the learning process. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the scientific dissemination of results from undergraduate theses in physical therapy programs and verify the existence of barriers and challenges in the preparation of undergraduate thesis. Second, to investigate whether project characteristics and thesis development barriers were associated with the dissemination of undergraduate thesis results. METHODS Physical therapists who graduated as of 2015, from 50 different educational institutions, answered an online questionnaire about barriers faced during the execution of undergraduate thesis and about scientific dissemination of their results. RESULTS Of 324 participants, 43% (n = 138) of participants disseminated their results, and the main form of dissemination was publishing in national journals (18%, n = 58). Regarding the barriers, 76% (n = 246) of participants reported facing some difficulties, and the main challenge highlighted was the lack of scientific knowledge (28%, n = 91). Chances of dissemination were associated with barriers related to scientific understanding and operational factors, such as the type of institution, institutional facilities, and involvement with other projects. CONCLUSION Scientific knowledge seems to be a determining factor for the good development of undergraduate theses. In addition, it is clear the need to stimulate more qualified dissemination that reaches a larger audience. Changes in operational and teaching factors may improve the undergraduate thesis quality. However, the importance of rethinking scientific education within physical therapy programs draws attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme S Nunes
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil.
| | - Samantha L Adami
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil
| | - Maitê M Pellenz
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil
| | - Daniela Rigo
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil
| | - Rafael A Estivalet
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil
| | - Ane Priscila Diel
- Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000, Santa Maria, RS, Postal Code97105-900, Brazil
| | | | - Alessandro Haupenthal
- Department of Health Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Araranguá, SC, Brazil
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Dickson T, Deschenes B, Gleeson P, Zafereo J. Impact of Faculty and Programmatic Resources on the Proportion of Academic Doctoral Degrees in Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs. Phys Ther 2021; 101:6124064. [PMID: 33522591 DOI: 10.1093/ptj/pzab030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education has introduced a requirement that 50% of core faculty members in a physical therapist education program should have an academic doctoral degree, which many programs are not currently meeting. Competition between programs for prestige and resources may explain the discrepancy of academic achievement among faculty despite accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty and program characteristics that are predictive of programs having a higher percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees. METHODS Yearly accreditation data from 231 programs for a 10-year period were used in a fixed-effects panel analysis. RESULTS For a 1 percentage point increase in the number of core faculty members, a program could expect a decline in academic doctoral degrees by 14% with all other variables held constant. For a 1% increase in either reported total cost or expenses per student, a program could expect a 7% decline in academic doctoral degrees with all other variables held constant. Programs that have been accredited for a longer period of time could expect to have proportionately more faculty members with academic doctoral degrees. CONCLUSIONS Programs may be increasing their core faculty size to allow faculty with academic doctoral degrees to focus on scholarly productivity. The percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees declines as programs increase tuition and expenditures, but this may be due to programs' tendency to stratify individuals (including part-time core faculty) into teaching- and research-focused efforts to maximize their research prowess and status. IMPACT This study illuminates existing relationships between physical therapist faculty staffing, time spent in research versus teaching, and program finances. The results of this study should be used to inform higher education policy initiatives aimed to lower competitive pressures and the costs of professional education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Dickson
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA.,Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Beth Deschenes
- Department of Physical Therapy, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Peggy Gleeson
- School of Physical Therapy, Texas Woman's University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Jason Zafereo
- Department of Physical Therapy, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions, Dallas, Texas, USA
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Dickson T, Zafereo J. Faculty and programmatic influences on the percentage of graduates of color from professional physical therapy programs in the United States. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 2021; 26:215-235. [PMID: 32583328 DOI: 10.1007/s10459-020-09980-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The physical therapy profession in the United States suffers from a shortage of providers of color. This is unlikely to change with newly graduating students, as 2.6% of 2017 graduates were African American and 5.7% were Hispanic or Latino. Faculty mentorship has a more profound influence on the retention of underrepresented minority students as compared with students from privileged backgrounds, according to undergraduate literature. The influences of faculty characteristics on physical therapy graduates of color are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine faculty and programmatic characteristics that could influence the percentage of physical therapy graduates of color. This study implemented the theory of academic capitalism to inform the results of a retrospective panel analysis, which used accreditation data from 2008 to 2017. Data from 231 programs was used to create fixed effects and random effects models to estimate the effects that faculty and program characteristics had on the percentage of graduates of color that a program produced. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between faculty of color and graduates of color (p < 0.001), but faculty must be sufficiently diverse before a program can expect a meaningful change in their percentage of graduates of color. Academic capitalist principles suggest that competition between programs for resources could negatively influence the proportion of graduates of color. Cause and effect associations between variables cannot be established. The authors concluded that professional physical therapy programs appeared to have increases in the percentages of graduates of color when they had more core faculty members of color.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Dickson
- Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6011 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390-8876, USA.
| | - Jason Zafereo
- Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6011 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390-8876, USA
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Dickson T, Taylor B, Zafereo J. Characteristics of Professional Physical Therapist Faculty and Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs, 2008-2017: Influences on Graduation Rates and First-Time National Physical Therapy Examination Pass Rates. Phys Ther 2020; 100:1930-1947. [PMID: 32750145 DOI: 10.1093/ptj/pzaa148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Graduation rates and first-time National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) pass rates among Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs have ranged from 30% to 100% and 0% to 100% between 2008 and 2017, respectively. Prior studies on predictors of graduation rates and NPTE pass rates from DPT programs have used cross-sectional data and have not studied faculty data. This study sought to understand how trends in DPT faculty and program characteristics correlated with graduation rates and first-time NPTE pass rates. METHODS This study was a retrospective panel analysis of yearly data from 231 programs between 2008 and 2017. Random effects models estimated the correlations between faculty and program characteristics regarding graduation rates and first-time NPTE pass rates. RESULTS Graduation rates peaked when programs devoted 25% of faculty time, on average, to scholarship. The number of peer-reviewed publications was positively correlated with graduation rates; however, the trend was logarithmic, indicating a diminishing rise in graduation rates as the number of publications exceeded 1 per faculty full-time equivalent. Tenure-track status, faculty of color, and part-time faculty were all negatively correlated with first-time NPTE pass rates. However, these 3 trends are likely not meaningful, because the predicted rates of decline in pass rates were minimal. CONCLUSIONS Faculty engagement in scholarly activities can positively influence graduation rates, but only up to a certain level of faculty time devoted to scholarship. IMPACT This is the first study to provide data on the influence of faculty on DPT student outcomes and will help education programs develop strategies to improve those outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara Dickson
- OCS, CSCS, Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6011 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75390-8876 (USA)
| | - Barrett Taylor
- Department of Counseling and Higher Education, The University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
| | - Jason Zafereo
- OCS, FAAOMPT, Department of Physical Therapy, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
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Rowland DM, Murphy AA, Manik HR, Lane CY, Givens DL, Cook CE, Garcia AN. Predictors of research productivity among physical therapy programs in the United States: an observational study. BMC Med Educ 2020; 20:216. [PMID: 32652999 PMCID: PMC7353740 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-020-02133-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study targeted the association of program characteristics of 203 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs in the United States (US) reported by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) in their 2017 Annual Accreditation Report (AAR) with measures of core faculty research volume. The association of institutional, program, and faculty characteristics of an institution with core faculty research volume was investigated. METHODS This observational study analyzed data provided in the AAR about program research volume. Predictor variables included institutional, program and faculty characteristics. Research volume was measured as a ratio of 1) number of peer-reviewed publications, 2) National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, and 3) faculty with grants, per number of core faculty. Research volume was stratified by quartiles and analyzed using logistic regression analyses. The highest 25% were analyzed against the lowest 75%. RESULTS In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, research Carnegie classification was positively associated with NIH funding (OR = 4.04; 95% CI = 1.92, 8.48) and number of peer reviewed publications (OR = 7.63; 95% CI = 3.39, 17.14). Square footage of research space was positively associated with number of peer reviewed publications (OR = 4.58; 95% CI = 2.08, 10.11). Private status was negatively associated with NIH funding (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.17, 0.83) and faculty holding grants (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.19, 0.76). CONCLUSIONS There is strong evidence that research culture (e.g., research Carnegie status and dedicated research space) is related to research productivity in DPT programs in the US. Private status was indicative of a non-research intensive environment, which may be reflective of a current trend of small, non-research based private institutions initiating DPT programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Rowland
- Duke University Division of Physical Therapy, 2200 W Main St, Durham, Durham County, NC, 27705, USA.
| | - Amanda A Murphy
- Duke University Division of Physical Therapy, 2200 W Main St, Durham, Durham County, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Hannah R Manik
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Chris Y Lane
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Deborah L Givens
- Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Chad E Cook
- Duke University Division of Physical Therapy, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, Durham County, NC, USA
| | - Alessandra Narciso Garcia
- Duke Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Division of Physical Therapy, Durham, Durham County, NC, USA
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