Academe and the field: a case study of a physical therapy program
-
Nitza Davidovitch
and
Tamar Jacob
Abstract
Background: The present study focuses on the academic activities of a service-oriented department and the practical training it provides to students in the undergraduate physical therapy program. This profession has significant importance in Israel due to the large number of war and terrorist attack victims as well as the high rate of traffic accidents. In addition, ever-rising life expectancies are expanding the number of patients who need professional help.Objective: The research aims to analyze the satisfaction of department graduates with their academic training and practical experiences. Such information can be used to reinforce the connection between the department’s teaching program and the students’ final achievements as well as the conditions and terms of employment after graduation.
Study group: The present study was based on a survey of 109 graduates of the Department of Physical Therapy at the Ariel University Center in Israel.
Methods: Data were collected through an analytical cross-section survey administered online.
Results: The findings point to the academe’s contribution to practical work in the field. No correlation was found between graduates’ profiles upon admission and their achievements in the program and at work, their studies toward advanced degrees, and their satisfaction with their training program and their work. Work condition was also identified as a factor that undermined work satisfaction.
Conclusions: This case study points to the significance of a close association between the academe and the field in reducing the differences between students’ final achievements in the program and their subsequent work conditions in the field.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- How to promote holistic development in university students?
- Reviews
- Development of a positive youth development subject in a university context in Hong Kong
- College drinking: a call to physicians
- Suicide and suicidal ideation among college students
- Protein intake in athletes: a review
- Perspectives on acute abdominal pain in the college student: a clinically challenging conundrum
- Stimulant abuse on the college campus: Titanic tip of an imposing Icelandic iceberg
- Original Articles
- Promoting leadership and intrapersonal competence in university students: what can we learn from Hong Kong?
- Promoting psychosocial competencies in university students: evaluation based on a one-group pre-test/post-test design
- Process evaluation of a positive youth development course in a university setting in Hong Kong
- Qualitative evaluation of a positive youth development course in a university setting in Hong Kong
- Focus group evaluation of a positive youth development course in a university in Hong Kong
- The chasm between blood donation intention and action: a study among college students in Delhi, India
- Academe and the field: a case study of a physical therapy program
- A survey study on the associations between misperceptions on substance use by peers and health and academic outcomes in university students in North-West Europe
- A comparison of substance use behaviours and normative beliefs in North-West European university and college students
- Gender differences in sleep habits and sleep-related problems in Arab Palestinian university students
