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A Relational Investigation: Board-Certified Physical Therapists and Their Knowledge of Anatomy

Simons, Ashley C

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Anatomy.
Objective: Physical therapy specialties were developed in order to meet the specific health needs of populations that require more specialized care. Designation as a board-certified specialist requires additional training that often includes advanced gross anatomy knowledge and its application. The objective of this study was to determine whether board-certified specialist physical therapists possess more gross anatomy knowledge when compared to non-specialist physical therapists. Methods: Specialty-certified physical therapists and non-specialty certified physical therapists were recruited to complete the following: one (1) survey requesting demographics and one (1) questionnaire allowing participants to demonstrate their knowledge of gross anatomy topics. Gross anatomy topics included six (6) regional components: 1) upper extremity; 2) lower extremity; 3) thorax and abdomen; 4) pelvis; 5) spine; and 6) head. Each regional component contained five (5) questions regarding the following systemic subsets: 1) joints and osteology; 2) muscular anatomy; 3) nervous system; 4) vasculature; and 5) special areas. Means analysis and regression models were used to interpret significant differences in the scores. Results: Results revealed board-certified specialists exhibited statistically significant greater anatomy knowledge when compared to non-specialists with 2.5% of the variation explained by the identification of a board-certified specialist. Examining the eight specialties revealed varying anatomy knowledge differences with 9.2% of the variance explained by the identification of a specific specialty certification. When examining time as a factor for knowledge, practitioners showed no differences in anatomy knowledge based upon the number of clinical years post-graduation. Educational components were also examined within the study. It was found that the type of anatomy instruction in physical therapist educational programs led to statistically different anatomical knowledge in the thoracic and abdomen regional subset and the cranium regional subset. Findings also indicated that continuing education was not a mediating variable between board-certified specialists and their knowledge of gross anatomy. Conclusions: This study adds empirical evidence regarding gross anatomy knowledge within the physical therapist profession. Significant findings included the following: 1) physical therapists who are board-certified specialists showed a greater amount of anatomy knowledge than physical therapists who were not board-certified specialists; 2) the eight specialty areas showed diverse knowledge in the topics of anatomy; 3) the number of years of practice did not act as a predictor for anatomy knowledge; 4) anatomy knowledge was shown to be different based on instructional methods in professional physical therapy programs; and 5) anatomy continuing education courses did not result in an improvement in anatomy knowledge for specialized practitioners.
Jennifer Burgoon, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Kirk McHugh, PhD (Committee Chair)
Susan Appling, PT, DPT, PhD (Committee Member)
Shannon Harris, PhD (Committee Member)
178 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Simons, A. C. (2019). A Relational Investigation: Board-Certified Physical Therapists and Their Knowledge of Anatomy [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555519751879414

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Simons, Ashley. A Relational Investigation: Board-Certified Physical Therapists and Their Knowledge of Anatomy. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555519751879414.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Simons, Ashley. "A Relational Investigation: Board-Certified Physical Therapists and Their Knowledge of Anatomy." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555519751879414

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)