An Assessment of Essential Anatomy Course Content in an Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Abstract

Anatomical knowledge is the foundation of the educational curricula in most healthcare programs. The varying scopes of practice between healthcare professions require anatomy educators to determine what content is essential to cover in a finite time with learners. When possible, the anatomy educator bases this decision on clinical experiences; this is a more significant challenge for the non-clinician educator teaching in a health profession curriculum. Although studies have determined essential anatomy content in many healthcare professions, no study has been undertaken in physical therapist education. This study was designed to determine what anatomical concepts are considered essential in physical therapist education in one doctor of physical therapy program. Faculty (n = 28), recent graduates (n = 134), and clinical instructors (n = 247) of a doctor of physical therapy program were invited to respond to a survey focused on rating the essential nature of 46 learning objectives. Consensus for learning objectives was determined using Lawshe's content validity method. One hundred forty-seven respondents completed the survey (36% response rate). Respondents represented a diversity in years of experience, highest physical therapist degree earned, specialty training, and setting of physical therapist practice. Of the 46 learning objectives presented, 10 were most frequently rated essential, 20 as useful but not essential, and 16 as not necessary. These results offer guidance for anatomy instructors at other institutions to make an informed decision on what anatomical content to focus on in their anatomy courses in order to increase time dedicated toward mastery of essential core anatomical knowledge for physical therapist practice.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01574-1.

Keywords: Content consensus; Content validity; Entry-level practice; Gross anatomy; Stakeholder survey.

Fig. 1

Overview of respondents invited to participate in the study and determination of those excluded from the data set. Stakeholder groups invited were faculty, recent graduates, or clinical instructors of students in the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program. Note that partially complete submissions were included as long as at least the demographic and preparedness sections were completed