OPINIONS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY EDUCATION-PROGRAM DIRECTORS ON ESSENTIALFUNCTIONS

Background and Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of directors of physical therapy education programs concerni ng the essential functions physical therapist students must be able to complete, with or without reasonable accommodation. Subjects. Fifty-e ight physical therapy education program directors participated. Method s. Participants completed surveys as part of a three-round Delphi tech nique. They had the opportunity to modify or make additions to the ini tial list in the first round and rate the items in the last two rounds using an ordinal scale. Results. All participants rated communication skills and practicing in a safe, ethical, and legal manner as definit ely essential functions. Nearly universal agreement (95%-99%) was pres ent for determining physical therapy needs of patients with movement d ysfunction and demonstrating the ability to apply universal precaution s. Performance of treatment procedures and performance of assessment p rocedures were rated essential by 90% to 95% of the participants. The least agreement was found for participation in the process of scientif ic inquiry. Conclusion and Discussion. There is agreement among the ph ysical therapy education program directors concerning the essential fu nctions that should be required of students. The results of this study should serve as a reference for physical therapy education programs f or developing the essential functions required of students.