The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the pre- and post-pandemic ultimate and first-time pass rates for physical therapist assistant (PTA) candidates taking the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) during the COVID-19 era in the U.S. This study builds a framework for future qualitative studies to understand factors leading to any…

Early assurance (EA) entry into Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs allows students an uninterrupted path to becoming physical therapists. There is a lack of evidence to determine whether EA is a successful entrance model. Therefore, the study's purposes are to: (a) determine whether students who receive EA entry have different program…

Background: Physical therapist student clinical performance is an essential indicator of professional competence later as a practicing clinician. The Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PTCPI) is the most common instrument used by physical therapy programs in the United States. Currently, however, researchers have found little to…

Physical therapy educational researchers have studied various factors that may or may not predict success on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). One factor that has not been studied extensively is the use of the Academic Practice Examination and Assessment Tool (APEAT) as a formative assessment. The purpose of this study was to…

Physical therapy students often have difficulty with the complexities of physical therapy practice. A lack of clinical reasoning skills is most likely the basis of the problem. Physical therapy education programs must foster clinical reasoning development through educational activities that prepare physical therapy students for competent clinical…

Purpose: To determine the differences between PT program NPTE 3-year ultimate pass rates (3YUPR) based on program length and faculty scholarship. To explore relationships between 3YUPR and quality faculty behaviors. Subjects: A total of 112 CAPTE accredited PT educational programs in the United States and Puerto Rico during 2013. Method: A…

This study examined the relationship of the scores on the Practice Exam & Assessment Tool (PEAT) to the scaled scores on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). A correlation analysis examined the relationship of the exam scores from three cohorts of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students on the PEAT and NPTE. This study sought to…

Students at the graduate level undergo higher levels of stress compared to their peers, and this stress is known to affect academic performance. Most of the research is focused on the negative aspect of stress. Positive psychology aspects, such as eustress and flow, are related to success in some activities; however, it is unknown whether these…

INTRODUCTION. The learning style of a student is an important factor in their ability to gain knowledge. This is especially important in challenging curriculums such as the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. A common tool to assess one's learning style is The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory (LSI). A common tool used to measure the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect professional foundational physical therapist education program coursework variables have in predicting National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) scores. This study examined variables including Anatomy course grade, Biomechanics/Kinesiology course grade, Exercise Physiology course…

The primary purpose of this study was to validate a method for assessing Morphological Awareness (MA) using multimorphemic words commonly used in the academic and clinical practice settings of physical therapy. The Medical Morphology Test (MMT) was developed for this study and was compared to scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT©). The…

There is a paucity of adult professional education literature, yet there are multiple theories and models from which to extrapolate information regarding learning in this population, including self-regulated learning theory and adult learning models. The first aim of this study was to explore these bodies of literature and provide a compelling…

Critical thinking skills (CTS) have been emphasized in educational curricula and professional development of physical therapists. Studies assessing the measurement and development of CTS in healthcare professionals have primarily focused on students enrolled in professional phases of allied health educational programs. Despite the breadth of…

The purposes of this study are to investigate whether the quiz scores of physical therapy students who integrated mind mapping in their learning strategies are significantly different than the quiz scores of students who did not use mind mapping to learn in a lecture-based research course and examine the students' perceptions of mind mapping as a…

Many preschool children are affected by disabilities requiring intervention through Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE; Camilli, Vargas, Ryan, & Barnett, 2010). Such interventions can include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and special education. Earlier delivery of these special education services…