File
Rodriguez L.1, Coupe K.2, James J.2, Komaroff E.3, Padrino G.2
1Keiser University- Ft. Lauderdale Campus, Program Director-Physical Therapist Assistant Program, Ft. Lauderdale, United States, 2Keiser University- Ft. Lauderdale Campus, Faculty-Physical Therapist Assistant Program, Ft. Lauderdale, United States, 3Keiser University- Ft. Lauderdale Campus, Graduate School, Ft. Lauderdale, United States
Background: PTA educational programs encounter numerous challenges while preparing students for the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE). Addressing the needs of the students to facilitate success requires a multifactorial approach. There is limited research exploring the role of program assessment in this process.
Purpose: The purpose of this case report is to describe the estimated impact of selected educational interventions on student performance in a program with high minority enrollment.
Methods: The study design was non-experimental and retrospective incorporating the input-output educational model theoretical framework. The performance of 2 student cohorts were compared, the 2014 cohort did not receive the selected educational interventions while the 2015 cohort received the selected education interventions of more challenging exam questions, targeted faculty development, individual exam feedback and earlier academic advisement of the at risk student. Descriptive student specific de-identified data of 70 students was collected including in program Final Core GPA (FCGPA), Mid Curriculum Exam score (MCE), Final Comprehensive Exam score (FCE) and first time NPTE (Board Exam) score. Pearson correlation analysis and regression models were completed to estimate the relationship between predictor variables (FCGPA, MCE and FCE) and the dependent variable of the PTA-NPTE (Board Exam) score.
Results: The 2015 cohort experienced an average PTA-NPTE (Board Exam) score increase of 20 points over the 2014 cohort which was significant. Additionally, the 2015 cohort exposed to the selected education interventions experienced an increase in first time pass rate compared to the 2014 cohort. The Final Core GPA and Final Comprehensive Exam score accounted for 62% (r2=0.62) of the variance in first attempt PTA-NPTE score. Students with lower academic performance as measured by the Final Core GPA were more likely to fail their first attempt of the PTA-NPTE.
Conclusion(s): Student performance improvement on the PTA-NPTE appears to be influenced by more challenging exam questions, targeted faculty development, individual exam feedback and earlier academic advisement of the at risk student in a PTA program with high minority enrollment. These findings confirm an earlier study which found that in program GPA is the best predictor of performance on the PTA-NPTE.
Implications: Further research on useful strategies for instructors to improve student success in the PTA-NPTE, as well as determining the factors that best indicate student success.
Funding acknowledgements: No funding was used for this study.
Topic: Education
Ethics approval: No ethics approval was required for this case report.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
