Education Commons^™

Serving The Professional Graduate Student: Health Sciences, Julie Evener

Education Collection

Students pursuing graduate-level degrees for careers in the health sciences have specific, and sometimes unique, needs regarding library resources and information literacy (IL) skills and instruction. The key to these considerations are the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) taught in health science curriculums. EBP, also known as evidence-based medicine or evidence-informed practice, is best defined as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” The library can help both in providing resources that contain the current best evidence and in teaching graduate health sciences students how to find the …

Physical Therapist Assistant Student Success In Traditional 15- Versus Seven-Week Courses At A Community College: A Single Institution Case Study, Tammy R. Marcin

Student Dissertations

The reasons why a physical therapist assistant student does not advance in a technical program are multifactorial. The curriculum design of a program is one of many factors that can potentially mitigate against students’ progression in a program. The previous literature has only assessed the characteristics of physical therapist assistant students, faculty, and programs in relation to graduates’ success in passing the National Physical Therapist Examination. A retrospective program evaluation was performed to investigate how the length of courses (i.e., 7- week vs. 15-week) in the first technical semester of a physical therapist assistant program affected student progression in the …

Teaching Joint Mobilizations In Physical Therapist Assistant Programs: Implications For Instruction And Policy, Renae H. Gorman

Student Dissertations

This research answers the question: Are physical therapist assistant programs teaching the manual therapy skill of joint mobilizations? This study also gathers information regarding how the joint mobilization techniques are being instructed and assessed within the Physical Therapist Assistant programs. This information could serve as the foundation for future research regarding developing instructional and evaluation strategies for manual therapy skills. The findings of this study may also affect the physical therapist assistants in clinical performance of manual therapy. The findings are pertinent due to conflicting statements by the professional organizations and the accrediting agency of physical therapist assistant educational programs. …

Experiential Learning Enhances Physical Therapist Student Confidence In Management Of Neurologically-Involved Adults And Children, Kristen Barta, Megan Flores, Anna Edwards

Physical Therapy Collection

Purpose/ Hypothesis: As physical therapy (PT) students advance through an entry-level professional program, clinical decision making skills improve, though self-confidence in treating individuals with neurological impairments does not. One technique to improve PT student self-confidence with this population is the addition of experiential learning opportunities, which uses direct student interaction with community volunteers to simulate clinical application of didactic material. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of experiential learning using community participants who were neurologically-involved, on PT students’ perceived self-confidence. It was hypothesized that PT students would report greater levels of self-confidence in their neurological …

The Effect Of Team-Based Learning In A Neurorehabilitation Course Within A Physical Therapy Assistant Academic Program, Laurie A. Schroder

Student Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Discovering What Motivates Student Participation In Service Learning: A Model For Healthcare Educators, Erica Kiernan, Ryan Gaylor

St. Augustine, Fall 2016

Service learning experiences can build skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, cultural competence, marketing, financial management, conflict resolution, and ethical reasoning. Service learning is a beneficial pedagogy.

Therefore, the research question being addressed in this study is how student perceptions and motivation factor into international service learning trips and their impact on physical therapy and occupational therapy students’ current education and future clinical practice?