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…

With the influx of educational and personal technologies in the classroom, parents, faculty, and students must find strategies to limit the seductive pull of multitasking. The purpose of this study is to determine if an awareness training and experience using website-blocking software improves learning in a lecture course, and if this experience…

Despite the increasing number of individuals taking computer-based tests, little is known about how examinees perceive computer-based testing environments and the extent to which these testing environments are perceived to affect test performance. The purpose of the present study was to assess the testing environment as perceived by individuals…

Physical therapy is a branch of healthcare that has advanced from an ancillary support role to an autonomous doctoral level profession in only two decades. Enrollment in physical therapy programs is increasing while resources and program length remain limited, leaving academic leaders challenged to identify instructional methods to manage…

Faculty members from health profession programs are under pressure to design and facilitate interprofessional education (IPE) projects to meet accreditation standards, even though most have not been trained to design and implement IPE projects, nor were they exposed to IPE during their own educational preparation. Some students and faculty have…

In many disciplines, the doctorate is the highest academic degree. Doctoral education is a complex process that includes transformation through knowledge acquisition and professional identity development (Gardner, 2009). Typically, the scope of the doctoral experience includes years of coursework, successfully passing a comprehensive or qualifying…

The overall purpose of this study was to investigate physical therapists attitudes and knowledge toward research and evidence-based practice (EBP). The research design was based on a realist theoretical framework. Twenty-five interviews were conducted asking standardized open-end questions which allowed the participants to relate their real world…

As medical knowledge grows exponentially and healthcare systems continue to utilize interdisciplinary care, it is essential that physical therapy (PT) graduates be prepared to practice efficiently and effectively on healthcare teams. Team-based learning (TBL) is a teaching pedagogy used in medicine to improve academic performance and teamwork…

With the growing multicultural population within the United States, healthcare providers need to be prepared to care for and educate adult clients from various cultural backgrounds. The purpose of the study was to examine the teaching and assessment methods being used by faculty in the education of future physical therapists in teaching the…

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…

The work of occupational (OT), physical (PT), and recreational therapists (RT), as well as speech- language pathologists (SLP), is interrelated and requires effective teamwork and collaboration to optimize patient outcomes and satisfaction. Literature shows that health care professionals are ill prepared to work in an interprofessional manner due…

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…

In order to practice physical therapy, physical therapist assistants (PTAs) must graduate from an accredited academic program and pass the National Physical Therapy Examination for Physical Therapist Assistants (PTA-NPTE). The primary objective of academic programs is to prepare students to successfully complete these two milestones to become…

The breadth and depth of education within physical therapy continues to expand as the profession develops; in fact, entry-level physical therapist education has transitioned from the bachelor to doctorate level. However, physical therapist assistant education has remained at the associate degree level despite increasing professional…

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…