Promoting professional behaviours in physical therapy students using standardized patient feedback

Abstract

Purpose: Physical therapy (PT) students receive feedback on their professional behaviours from academic and clinical faculty. Another avenue for providing feedback to PT students is by using standardized patients (SPs). Very little research is available on the impact of SPs’ specific feedback on whether, and how, PT students learn professional behaviour, and what research is available has focused on clinical competencies, communities of practice, and broad assessments of professional behaviours. The purpose of this study was to record PT students’ perspectives on how combined verbal and written SP feedback affected their professional behaviours. Method: The sample of convenience consisted of seven students enrolled in a PT professional education programme in the northeastern United States before starting their first full-time clinical experience. The students agreed to participate in an SP experience focused on professional behaviours. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand the students’ perspectives on receiving a combination of verbal and written SP feedback. Results: The students’ perspectives on receiving SP feedback were categorized into four themes: Seeing through the patient’s eyes; SPs offer unique contributions to student learning; timely, verbal feedback adds a deeper understanding of professional behaviours in preparation for the clinic; and verbal feedback promotes student self-efficacy of professional behaviours. Conclusions: Using SPs’ written and verbal feedback in the curriculum can be a valuable tool for enhancing the development of PT students’ professional behaviour. © 2019, University of Toronto Press Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Author Keywords

education simulation training Professionalism allied health occupations

Index Keywords

adult female human male Article Vocational education curriculum United States clinical article simulation training professionalism case report physical therapy student eye

Author Affiliations

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA, United States

Department of Physical Therapy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States

Department of Physical Therapy, Hunter College, New York, NY, United States

Funding & Acknowledgements

No funding information

References 10 References

1 Professionalism in Physical Therapy Core Values, (2003)

2 Cpa Code of Ethics Internet

3 Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for Students

4 Hayes, Karen W., Behaviors that cause clinical instructors to question the clinical competence of physical therapist students, Physical Therapy, 79, 7, pp. 653-671, (1999)

5 J Phys Ther Educ, (2005)

6 Davis, D. Scott, A teaching professionalism: A survey of physical therapy educators, Journal of Allied Health, 38, 2, pp. 74-80, (2009)

7 Jarski, Robert W., Clinical teaching in physical therapy: Student and teacher perceptions, Physical Therapy, 70, 3, pp. 173-178, (1990)

8 Learning in Health and Social Care, (2004)

9 Cole, Beverley, How clinical instructors can enhance the learning experience of physical therapy students in an introductory clinical placement, Advances in Health Sciences Education, 13, 2, pp. 163-179, (2008)

10 Milanese, Steve Francesco, Undergraduate physiotherapy student perceptions of teaching and learning activities associated with clinical education, Physical Therapy Reviews, 18, 6, pp. 439-444, (2013)

Promoting professional behaviours in physical therapy students using standardized patient feedback

How to Cite