Knowledge of the Roles and Responsibilities Between Physical Therapists and Other Healthcare Professions
Background: Many healthcare professions, including physical therapy, have focused on interprofessional education (IPE) within the context of academic learning yet struggle to apply it in practice. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities of one’s own profession and other health professions is one of the four core competencies in the IPE curriculum used to develop skills related to interprofessional collaboration in clinical practice. By collecting data from practicing clinicians regarding their knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of physical therapists, we aimed to inform curriculum development that would better prepare healthcare professional students to be collaborative practitioners upon graduation.
Methodology: We utilized a qualitative design by interviewing practicing nurses, occupational (OT) and physical therapists (PT), physicians, and physician assistants. We adapted semi-structured questions from a previously published study to these professions regarding their knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of PTs and vice versa.
Results: Physical therapists show a consistent understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the other professions. Although non-PT clinicians reported frequently interacting with PTs in their respective practice settings, responses to questions related to knowledge of the scope of PT practice implied a lack of understanding of how PT can improve patient outcomes. OT clinicians had the best understanding of PT practice. However, there is a genuine interest in learning more to promote collaborative care.
Conclusion: Knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of PTs remains deficient even among practicing clinicians who could affect the rate at which patients are referred and receive PT services. Findings from this cross-sectional study support the need to incorporate IPE into both the didactic and clinical curricula. Earlier introduction and interaction with students in other healthcare disciplines will allow for them to apply skills related to interprofessional collaborative practice first in an educational setting before the required application in clinical practice.
Implications: Results from this study may inform healthcare professions to better emphasize the importance of IPE in their respective curricula. Furthermore, the results inform the need for the increased effort of all healthcare professions to educate each other on their roles and responsibilities to promote collaborative care and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
