Cognitive structures are the mental representation of domain knowledge and its organization. A preliminary investigation of the cognitive structure of gross anatomy knowledge was conducted on physiotherapy students. The criterion-related validation study examined two data modeling strategies (multidimensional scaling and Pathfinder networks) as…

Little is known about the experience of belonging for full-time, hybrid physical therapy faculty in the United States. Rapid growth of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) education programs with hybrid curricular models and national physical therapy faculty shortages suggest the importance of exploring faculty belonging, especially given the…

Psychomotor skills are an essential aspect of physical therapy (PT) education. Recent studies supported using videoconference technology (VCT) for psychomotor instruction, but research on the use of VCT for psychomotor assessments is limited. Determining VCT's usefulness for psychomotor exams is vital to establish best pedagogical practices. The…

Currently, there is a need for physical therapists to support the expected growth in the field. However, a shortage exists in core Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) faculty holding an academic doctorate. To reverse the shortage, the perceptions of the motives and barriers to pursuing an academic doctorate among DPT faculty needed to be studied. The…

Physical therapy education has significantly evolved over the past few decades. While gross anatomy is integral to physical therapy education curricula, the current state of anatomy education within these programs is not well understood. The primary purpose of this report was to provide an update on the current state of anatomy education across…

In recent years, several physical therapy programs have been launched at U.S. colleges and universities to respond to the need for trained practitioners to serve an aging population. However, there is a shortage of qualified physical therapy faculty to meet the needs of students and to adhere to accreditation requirements, and limited information…

Curricular guidelines to prepare United States-based Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students to address sexual health do not exist. The literature about this topic is scant and does not describe how DPT faculty design and deliver educational content related to sexual health. The available literature does not link curricular design and delivery…

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between health professionals of various disciplines aims to improve patient care by optimizing patient outcomes and employee enthusiasm for their jobs. Interprofessional education (IPE) is the pedagogical approach to teaching IPC. There is an expectation that physical therapy (PT) instructors will adopt and…

Experts estimate that more than half of the people in the United States are at risk of poor health outcomes due to circumstances related to low health literacy levels. Physical therapist professional education programs represent a viable point of intervention to address health literacy in the population from an asset perspective, with the…

This study aimed to explore graduate-level occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) faculty's perspectives on their academic responsibilities, well-being, and the needs of students following the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers hypothesized that a decrease in job satisfaction and overall well-being would be evident, indicating burnout…

Overall trends of academic staffing in the US have indicated declines in tenure, increased use of contingent faculty, and stratification of teaching and research efforts. However, little is known about academic staffing patterns in professional programs, and little research has been done using program-level data. The purposes of this study were to…

A recent interest in the improvement of teamwork in the healthcare industry has occurred as well as a realization that medical errors are often related to poorly functioning interprofessional teams. This interest is triggering changes in pre-professional accreditation standards for allied health programs which require the use of interprofessional…

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify the factors that influence intent to stay in program directors and faculty working in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs across the United States and to explore how these educators perceive job satisfaction and how commitment to the organization may influence their intent to…

As the Director of Student Affairs for a developing two-year hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, I was tasked with developing a program to support the academic success of students. Limited evidence was available on supporting students who were geographically separated from campus during most of their preparation because hybrid…

The physical therapy profession in the United States suffers from a shortage of providers of color. This is unlikely to change with newly graduating students, as 2.6% of 2017 graduates were African American and 5.7% were Hispanic or Latino. Faculty mentorship has a more profound influence on the retention of underrepresented minority students as…