What physiotherapists in private practice do: the effects of sex and training on clinical behaviour

The past decade in Australia has witnessed the expansion of Graduate Diploma programmes designed for the practising clinician and it seemed timely to assess the effects of this type of post-graduate education. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical behaviour, defined as time allocation between different assessment and treatment procedures, of 16 generalist physiotherapists and 16 manipulative therapists. The results indicated some significant differences in the treatment choices and time allocation between qualifications groups, as well as some sex based differences. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to decision making in clinical practice and the development of higher order clinical decision rules.