Students' Perceptions of What Employers Consider Desirable Abilities, Attributes and Qualifications for Physical Therapists in Today's Workforce

Abstract

In today's workforce, characterized by change and increasing competition for jobs, it is important for educational programs, students and practicing physical therapists to be aware of the qualities that are valued by employers. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of physical therapy students about the abilities, attributes and qualifications that are desired by employers of physical therapists in today's workforce. Further, the study compared the perceptions of students with those of employers based on an earlier study of employers with a similar survey instrument.The population surveyed was students nearing completion of their second year of study in each of the seven physical therapy programs in North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC). Students were asked to respond to the survey from the perspective of an employer of physical therapists in today's workforce, and to indicate the relative importance of items (grouped as abilities, attributes and qualifications) on a six-response Likert scale ranging from Not Important (1,2) to Important (3,4) to Essential (5,6). The student survey contained the same core questions as an earlier survey of physical therapy employers from clinical settings in NC and SC, allowing comparison of the two populations. Analysis of the students' responses resulted in rankings of abilities, attributes and qualifications. The three most valued abilities were: (1) manage time effectively, (2) problem-solve/think critically, and (3) abide by rules and regulations. The three most valued attributes were: (1) ethical behavior, (2) integrity, and (3) a positive attitude. The three most valued qualifications were: (1) broad-based knowledge and skills, (2) an advanced master's degree in physical therapy, and (3) membership in the American Physical Therapy Association. Employers had the same top three abilities as students, but flexibility was above a positive attitude in the ranking of attributes, and manual therapy certification was above an advanced master's degree in the ranking of qualifications. Additional analyses examined the correlation between students' perceptions about the relative importance of the various abilities, attributes and qualifications and the amount of prior clinical experience (in weeks) that they had.