Physical Therapy Faculty, Clinical Instructors, and Employer Expectations for New DPT Graduates in the Acute Care Setting

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine how the expectations of new graduate physical therapists held by physical therapy faculty (PTF), clinical instructors (CIs), and employers (PTE) compared in the acute care (AC) setting, and determine if graduates are meeting the entry-level expectations of the three stakeholders in acute care. Methods: This mixed method study used Survey Monkey to gather data from participants. Faculty, CIs and PTEs were recruited from CAPTE accredited DPT programs. The current survey used the top 25 characteristics developed by the Delphi study by Gazsi to determine level of agreement of importance among the three participant groups for entry-level performance in acute care. Results: The study had 399 participants. Of the 25 characteristics, 7 were ranked most important by more than 75% of all participant groups combined. Two characteristics – safe and reliable – were consistently ranked highest by all 3 participant groups. Four significant differences among groups were for the characteristics of recognition of red flags, critical thinker, problem solver, and team player. A majority (82.4%) reported that new graduates were meeting expectations. Conclusions: Although the majority of participants reported that new graduates were meeting expectations, the implication of differences in expectations among some of the participants is that these differences should be considered in curricula development.

Analysis of decisional factors that influences the university training for candidates at physical therapy faculty in Eastern part of Romania

An important component of a person's life is making decision to train in a profession conditioned by and linked to certain factors with various degrees of importance for each individual, according to the possibilities, social conjuncture or aspirations. This research aimed at analysing the importance of factors that influenced the decision of 298 candidates who choose to be trained professionally as physical therapists at the universities in Eastern Romania, during Summer 2016. The subjects with their voluntary involvement were inquired by a 12-item questionnaire before the admission examination. The results present tendencies that do not allow any generalisation, but emphasis on certain factors considered when choosing the profession. To conclude in Eastern Romania, for 2016 main admission, the determining factors were living near the university, the advice of friends and family and the desire to help people. For these three categories, the statistical analysis has shown high values. Keywords: University, physical therapist, decision, factors.