Stakeholder Assessment of Student Preparedness and Capability to Apply Anatomical Knowledge in Physical Therapy Practice
Authors: Pascoe Mike 
Published: May 2022

Introduction & Objective

Anatomy is the foundation of clinical practice and great effort has gone into the examination and optimization of its place in professional programs. A thorough literature review revealed a scarcity of information on how well prepared and capable graduates are to apply anatomic knowledge in a clinical setting. For example, medical educators have reported that only 29% of residency directors felt that residents were adequately prepared in gross anatomy, however, the learner themselves felt prepared. The research objective of this work was to examine ratings of preparedness and capability by stakeholders of a physical therapist education program.

Materials & Methods

A web‐based survey was developed and distributed to 409 stakeholders of a professional (entry‐level) physical therapist education program. Stakeholders were either a faculty member, recent graduate, or clinical instructor. Clinical anatomy was presented over 16 weeks in the curriculum (ten weeks in Year 1, six weeks in Year 2) and included whole‐body donor dissection. Sections on the survey included demographic information and four Likert‐scale items that addressed the themes of student preparedness in terms of adequate anatomic knowledge and capability to apply that knowledge in a clinical setting. The Kruskal‐Wallis test (ordinal level data) was selected to analyze differences between stakeholder groups.

Results

The survey was completed by 165 respondents (40% response rate), which represented various levels of experience and post‐professional education (see Table 1). The median overall rating of the four Likert‐scale items was a 4 out of 5 (“quite prepared” and “quite capable”). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in ratings between stakeholder groups for three survey items, and no significant difference for one item (see Table 2). Recent graduates most often rated students with 4 or 5 (out of 5) on preparedness in terms of adequate anatomical knowledge (P = 0.0477) and capability to explain complex anatomical details to a lay person (P = 0.0003). Faculty least often rated students with 4 or 5 (out of 5) on capability of explaining patient symptoms using underlying anatomy (P = 0.008). Ratings were equivalent for the survey item assessing capability of describing anatomical structures by location.

Conclusion

Overall, stakeholders reported that physical therapy graduates were prepared with adequate anatomic knowledge and capable of applying it in a clinical setting. There were group differences in the rating of preparedness and capability. Recent graduates rated their preparedness higher than those with more years of experience in the work force (faculty and clinical instructors).

Significance & Implication

This work presents evidence that students maintain adequate anatomic knowledge and are capable of applying it in a clinical setting upon graduation from the physical therapist education program in this study. It should be noted that these ratings were not uniform across stakeholder groups. These results are important because they represent the opinion of clinicians practicing in the work force.