Effectiveness of a Retention Program to Improve Performance During the First Semester of a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

BACKGROUND: To meet the expanding need for physical therapists universities are under increasing pressure to enroll, educate, and train physical therapists. Poor academic performance can result in student dismissal from a physical therapy program. The purpose of this study is to determine if implementation of a retention program would improve student academic performance in the foundational science curriculum in a physical therapy program. METHODS: A prospective observational cohort design was used. The retention program centered on three approaches: 1. Early identification of at-risk students. 2. Supplemental instruction in Human Anatomy. 3. Offering peer tutoring for the foundational science courses. RESULTS: A significant association existed between the implementation of the retention program and the reduction of dismissals from the Fall Semester of 2012 to the fall 2013 semesters. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a retention program had a beneficial effect on decreasing student dismissals in a physical therapy program.

Student perceived competence in direct access to physical therapy in a doctor of physical therapy program at a historically black university.

Physical therapists provide care via direct access in many states. Greater perceived competence with direct access among graduating physical therapists is critical. The purpose of this study was to assess student physical therapists' perceived competence with direct access.A survey instrument was created to determine levels of perceived competence at three phases of the physical therapy curriculum. The Friedman two-way ANOVA by ranks was used to assess differences between year one, year two, and year three responses for each individual survey question and the overall survey score.Total survey score demonstrated significant increased student perceived competence with direct access to physical therapy care direct access from year one total to year two (p = .018), year one to year three (p = .005), and year two to year three (p = .016).More favorable attitudes among graduating physical therapists may have an influence on primary care for musculoskeletal conditions.

Critical biological pathways for chronic psychosocial stress and research opportunities to advance the consideration of stress in chemical risk assessment.

Emerging evidence suggests that psychosocial stress and toxicants may interact to modify health risks. Stress-toxicant interactions could be important in chemical risk assessment, but these interactions are poorly understood and additional research is necessary to advance their application. Environmental health research can increase knowledge of these interactions by exploring hypotheses on allostatic load, which measures the cumulative impacts of stress across multiple physiological pathways, using knowledge about physiological pathways for stress-related health effects, and evidence of common target pathways for both stress and toxicants. In this article, critical physiological pathways for stress-related health effects are discussed, with specific attention to allostatic load and stress-toxicant interactions, concluding with research suggestions for potential applications of such research in chemical risk assessment.