The Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy

How physical therapy residents and fellows influence doctor of physical therapy students’ experiences: a single program mixed methods study

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: Physical therapy residency and fellowship programs help healthcare providers develop stronger clinical skills and professional confidence. While research shows that these programs benefit the residents and fellows, we know little about how these advanced practitioners impact entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students they work with during their education. This study investigates the influence of physical therapy residents and fellows on the educational experience and professional development of DPT students through focused surveys and semi-structured interviews.

Methods: Students eligible (229) for this study were students enrolled in the DPT program from January 2018 to March 2022. Cohorts were selected based on their exposure to residents and fellows during their time in the DPT program. Students from the identified cohorts were invited to complete a web-based survey and participate in virtual interviews. An inductive content analysis approach was employed to identify and refine codes and establish themes.

Results: Twenty-three percent of students completed the survey (52), and 42 completed the interview. Seventy-three percent of students acknowledged that a residency and fellowship program associated with the DPT program positively enriched their educational experience. Additionally, 50% of students indicated that access to residents and fellows influenced their decision to pursue a residency or fellowship.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that integrating residents and fellows within a DPT program positively influences students’ educational experiences and professional development within a single university setting. While these results are encouraging, additional research is warranted to deepen our understanding of this relationship.

Examining relationships between the clinical learning environment and clinical reasoning in physical therapy education

Sidney Stoddard, Lori Kupczynski, Crissie M. Jameson — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: Newly graduated physical therapists are expected to demonstrate high levels of clinical reasoning. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs should ensure clinical education experiences foster clinical reasoning. Minimal evidence exists regarding factors that influence physical therapy clinical learning environments (CLE). The purpose of this study was to examine associations between factors DPT students perceive to impact CLE and students’ self-efficacy in clinical reasoning.

Methods: This quantitative exploratory correlational study electronically surveyed 45 graduate physical therapy students enrolled in their final year of DPT education programs upon completing their terminal clinical education experience. The Physical Therapy Self-Efficacy Scale and the abbreviated Clinical Learning Environment Inventory-19 (CLEI-19) were used to assess self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and perceived personalization, student involvement, task orientation, innovation, and student satisfaction in CLE, respectively. Inferential and descriptive statistics assessed the relationships between self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and the previously mentioned CLEI-19 factors.

Results: Very weak to weak, positive relationships that were not statistically significant were identified between self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and perceived personalization (r_s(43) = 0.21, P = 0.163), student involvement (r_s(43) = 0.14, P = 0.375), task orientation (r_s(43) = 0.03, P = 0.867), innovation (r_s(43) = 0.16, P = 0.286), and student satisfaction (r_s(43) = 0.28, P = 0.064), respectively, in CLE.

Conclusion: DPT programs can use this study to determine which factors in physical therapy CLE relate to self-efficacy in clinical reasoning. The results of this study can be used to guide future research in identifying perceived influential factors in physical therapy CLE.

Physical therapist student and clinical instructor perceptions of the Clinical Performance Instrument 3.0 (CPI 3.0): an exploratory descriptive study

Ruth Hansen, Danielle Struble-Fitzsimmons, Kathryn Ryans — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: The Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) has been adopted by US academic physical therapist (PT) programs as a key measure of clinical education performance. In May 2023, the APTA released an updated version, the CPI 3.0, which included significant changes. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of students (SPTs) and clinical instructors (CIs) who were the initial users of the CPI 3.0.

Methods: Retrospective study utilizing an investigator-created electronic survey meant to measure the constructs of technology, scoring, and stakeholder burden compared to the previous version. The survey was sent out to five cohorts of students and their CIs who used the CPI 3.0 for a full-time clinical experience during the inaugural release. IRB approval was obtained.

Results: Students (n = 63) and CIs (n = 47) reported that the CPI 3.0 platform was easy to access (95.2% SPT; 76.6% CI) and navigate (93.5% SPT; 72.3% CI). However, submission problems were experienced. More than 90% of students and CIs agreed that the CPI 3.0 was able to capture an accurate reflection of student performance. In addition, 91.1% of CIs reported that the tool would enable them to capture student performance difficulties that would put them at risk of not passing. Those that used the previous version of the CPI agreed that the CPI 3.0 was less time consuming (64.3% SPT; 76.3% CI) and burdensome (60.5% SPT; 68.4% CI).

Conclusion: Students and CIs perceived the CPI 3.0 favorably in terms of ability to capture performance, time to complete, and overall burden.

Exploring the relationship of diagnostic reasoning, self-efficacy, and clinical reasoning of physical therapy students

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: One of the primary objectives of entry-level physical therapy education is to develop students’ clinical reasoning (CR) skills to provide optimal, patient-centered care. However, CR is a highly contextualized concept, and the assessment of CR development to ensure students have the requisite skills for safe patient care prior to clinical experiences is challenging within an education program. Self-assessment tools may provide a time-efficient opportunity to assess students’ CR development across their education. Both diagnostic reasoning and self-efficacy have been correlated with CR performance in physical therapy. This study aimed to explore the relationship between diagnostic reasoning, self-efficacy, and CR development among physical therapy students.

Methods: Diagnostic reasoning was assessed through the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI). Self-efficacy was measured by the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) scale and Physical Therapist Self-Efficacy (PTSE) scale. CR ability was evaluated through the Think Aloud Standardized Patient Examination (TASPE) performed during a standardized patient simulation, and scores for the CR performance criteria as assessed by clinical instructors on the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument Version 2006 (CPI).

Results: There was no correlation between self-assessment scores on the DTI, NGSE, PTSE, and CR performance assessed by faculty during a standardized patient simulation (TASPE) or clinical instructors using the midterm and final CPI during a 12-week full-time clinical experience.

Conclusion: This study was unable to identify a self-assessment tool or a student performance indicator that could accurately predict CR performance during upcoming full-time clinical experiences.

Association of residents’ personality traits with clinical performance in an orthopedic physical therapy residency program

Kathleen T. Geist, Vincent Carter, Leda McDaniel, Zachary Walston — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: Despite the lack of validity and reliability, residency programs use various assessments to admit residents and anticipate their future performance that include admission interviews and letters of recommendation. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a valid, reliable, or predictive association between physical therapy residents’ personality traits and their clinical performance in the domains of live patient examination, clinical productivity, and patient satisfaction during residency training.

Methods: This study was an observational cohort study. Each resident completed a standardized 16 Personal Factors Questionnaire (16 PF) on their respective hire date prior to matriculation in the physical therapy residency program.

Results: Results of the Spearman’s rho correlation indicated there was a strong positive association between those residents who were classified as more even-keeled (r = 0.473; p = 0.02) and meeting clinical productivity goals at 3 months. Better performance on the live patient examination was associated with residents who were identified as being people-oriented (r = 0.531; p = 0.02), gregarious (r = 0.464; p = 0.04), and fearless (r = 0.521; p = 0.02), while worse performance was associated with residents who were self-disclosing (r = -0.673; p = 0.00) and self-confident (r = -0.520; p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Identification of residents’ personality traits may be helpful in determining whether residents are likely to meet expectations in the domains of clinical productivity and performance on a live patient examination during the first 3 months of a post-professional physical therapy residency program.

The relationship between physical therapy students’ communication skills during a standardized patient examination and professionalism domain performance on a first full-time clinical experience: an exploratory cohort study

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose: Physical therapy education lacks validated tools for assessing student communication and professional behavior skills before clinical experiences (CE). The Gap Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Form (GKCSAF) has been used in medical education to assess student communication skills. This study investigated: (1) the relationship between scores on a modified GKCSAF (mGKCSAF) during a standardized patient (SP) examination and professionalism domain scores on the Clinical Performance Instrument 2.0 (CPI) during a first full-time CE1 and (2) differences in mGKCSAF ratings across SPs, clinical instructors (CIs), and student self-assessments.

Methods: This retrospective study examined data from 73 first-year physical therapy students who completed a SP examination and were scored using the mGKCSAF before CE1. The mGKCSAF was scored by SPs, CIs, and the students themselves. At the end of CE1, students were assessed using the CPI. Spearman’s rank-order correlations were used to determine the relationship between mGKCSAF scores and five professionalism domain scores on the CPI. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare mGKCSAF ratings across rater groups. Post hoc Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) tests further explored differences among rater groups. G*Power analysis confirmed sufficient sample size.

Results: Small statistically significant correlations existed between mGKCSAF SP ratings and CI CPI ratings during CE1 in professionalism domain categories. Student mGKCSAF self-assessment scores were significantly lower than assessments by SPs and CIs.

Conclusion: The mGKCSAF may be an effective tool to assess physical therapy student communication skills before CE1 when it is scored by SPs.