Professionalism and Safety of DPT Students in First, Full-Time Clinical Experiences: Accelerated Hybrid versus Traditional Programs

PURPOSE

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) education continues to progress with contemporary content and innovative teaching methods. The purpose of this study was to examine clinical assessment data from the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT-CPI) focused on professionalism and safety in an initial clinical experience between an accelerated-hybrid and traditional DPT program.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on mid-term and final Safety, Professional Behavior, and Communication PT-CPI scores of each program's first clinical experience. The traditional program served as a control group. A total 186 students were examined: 100 from the traditional program and 86 from the accelerated-hybrid program.

RESULTS

There was a significant effect of learning environment on final test scores while controlling for midterm scores in Safety (p < 0.001), Professional Behavior (p < 0.001), and Communication (p < 0.001) with students in the accelerated-hybrid program scoring higher. Each program showed improvements from midterm to final PT-CPI, outperforming the set benchmark score with the accelerated-hybrid program showing larger growth in Communication and Safety.

CONCLUSION

Students in both DPT programs display acceptable levels of professionalism and safety according to program benchmarks and demonstrate growth in these areas throughout the clinical experiences despite differences in program design.

Explicit Theory-Informed Clinical Reasoning Curriculum in a Hybrid Learning Physical Therapy Program

Despite agreement among educators that clinical reasoning (CR) is an essential skill for health care professionals, use of explicit, theory-informed CR strategies and tools are lacking in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) educational programs. The purpose of this commentary is to describe a four-step process whereby CR is implemented as an explicit curricular component in an accelerated, hybrid DPT program. Our process utilized four steps: 1) Identifying relevant literature and theories that informed our current understanding of CR, 2) Creating a programmatic definition of CR, 3) Delineating educational principles and curricular components that operationalize the teaching and assessment of CR, and 4) Developing the faculty to implement CR in the curriculum. A DPT program that explicitly implemented CR into its curriculum received state and regional approval, and Candidate for Accreditation status and admitted its first cohort in 2022. Programmatic outcomes will be reported in two years. The curriculum was purposefully constructed with the goal to make proficiency in CR a required outcome. Robust teaching, learning, and assessment strategies were developed to cultivate and make explicit the essential behaviors and skills of CR. Setting high expectations for adaptive learners will add to the culture that supports excellence in PT education.