Introduction of a psychologically informed educational intervention for pre-licensure physical therapists in a classroom setting.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:There is an increasing need for physical therapists to address psychosocial
aspects of musculoskeletal pain. Psychologically informed practice is one way to deliver
this type of care through the integration of biopsychosocial interventions into patient
management. An important component of psychologically informed practice is patient
centered communication. However, there is little research on how to effectively implement
patient centered communication into pre-licensure training for physical therapists.
METHODS:Thirty Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students took part in an educational
intervention that consisted of one 4-h didactic teaching session and three 1-h experiential
learning sessions. Prior to the first session, students performed an examination of
a standardized patient with chronic low back pain and were assessed on psychologically
informed physical therapy (PIPT) adherent behaviors via a rating scale. Students also
completed the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS-PT). After the last experiential
session, students evaluated another standardized patient and were reassessed on PIPT
adherent behaviors. Students retook the PABS-PT and qualitative data was also collected.
RESULTS:After the educational intervention, students had positive changes in their
pain attitudes and belief scores indicating a stronger orientation toward a psychosocial
approach to patient care (p < 0.05). Additionally, after the intervention, students
showed improvements in their adherence to using PIPT behaviors in their simulated
patient interactions (p < 0.05). Qualitatively, students reported a high acceptability
of the educational intervention with common themes indicating improved confidence
with treating and communicating with complex patients. CONCLUSION:Students had attitudes
and beliefs shift towards a more psychosocial orientation and demonstrated improved
PIPT behaviors in simulated patient interactions after a brief educational intervention.
Future research should investigate best practices for implementation of psychologically
informed physical therapy for licensed clinicians.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21662Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1186/s12909-020-02272-5Publication Info
Ballengee, Lindsay A; Covington, J Kyle; & George, Steven Z (2020). Introduction of a psychologically informed educational intervention for pre-licensure
physical therapists in a classroom setting. BMC medical education, 20(1). pp. 382. 10.1186/s12909-020-02272-5. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21662.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Lindsay Ballengee
Student
Jeffrey Kyle Covington
Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr. Covington is a neurologic physical therapist and 2004 graduate of the Duke DPT
Program. He joined the faculty in 2007 and served as the Associate Director of Clinical
Education from 2007-2014. During that time he led DPT Clinical STEPs® (Student
Team Experience in Practice) course series in the first six semesters of the curriculum
which places teams of students in clinical practice during their course work. The
creation of this new clinical e
Steven Zachary George
Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr. George’s primary interest is research involving biopsychosocial models for the
prevention and treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders. His long term
goals are to 1) improve accuracy for predicting who is going to develop chronic pain;
and 2) identify non-pharmacological treatment options that limit the development of
chronic pain conditions. Dr. George is an active member of the American Physical
Therapy Association, United States Association of the Study of
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