Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Make Changes Early! High Stress Levels Predict Lower Academic Performance In First-Year Physical Therapy Students: A Pilot Study, Daniel W. Flowers, Amanda Bernard

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Evidence exists in the literature that allows admissions committees to predict which students will be most successful in entry-level physical therapy educational programs. Evidence linking modifiable predictors of academic performance to currently enrolled students allowing enhancement of their performance during enrollment is lacking. Previous healthcare education literature indicates that stress has a negative predictive relationship with academic performance, and that stress is the highest in the beginning of an academic program. Research studies with medical students report exercise assists in minimizing stress and improving academic performance, while the role of leisure time has also been investigated. No study has …