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Background and Purpose. Contemporary physical therapist (PT) practice assigns greater responsibility, accountability, and autonomy to the PT than ever before. Achieving accuracy in clinical reasoning is more complex and is associated with greater risk. Self-efficacy contributes, positively or negatively, to clinical reasoning. At present there is no tool for measuring self-efficacy in clinical reasoning among PTs or PT students. The purpose of this study was to develop and present a PTspecific self-efficacy scale for measuring clinical reasoning among students.
Methods. The 5-item Physical Therapist Self-Efficacy (PTSE) scale was developed with model indicators available in the literature and expert opinion related to expectations in clinical reasoning. Seventy-one students enrolled in the 3-year Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program at Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia, completed both the New General Self-Efficacy scale and the PTSE scale described in this study.
Results. An initial factor analysis revealed that 2 independent component factors accounted for 95.6% of the variance in the data, namely, general self-efficacy and PT self-efficacy. A planned comparisons analysis of variance demonstrated that increases in PT self-efficacy among students across years of enrollment in the Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum were statistically significant (E = 22.134; df= 2; P = .000).
Discussion and Conclusion. The evidence in this study supports the initial validation of the newly developed PTSE scale for measuring self-efficacy in clinical reasoning among PT students, with potential application for practicing PTs. physical therapist self-efficacy is developmental, that is, responsive to environmental inputs such as educational experiences. Changes in perceived general self-efficacy that were observed in this study may be related to the homogeneity associated with the academic environment.
Key Words: Clinical reasoning, Physical therapist, Self-efficacy.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Contemporary physical therapist (PT) practice assigns greater responsibility, accountability, and autonomy to the PT than ever before. State legislation in support of direct access-that is, patient self-referral to PT services without a prescription or referral from a physician-now exists in some form in all jurisdictions across the United States.1 Accuracy in clinical reasoning is essential in this open practice environment and is arguably more complex.
Clinical reasoning is a critical skill2 required of PTs, but little is known contextually or developmentally about this skill. Clinical reasoning requires higher-order cognitive processing and mindfulness in context and...