Professionalism in Physician Assistant, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Psychology, and...

Interprofessional collaboration for healthcare requires a better understanding of the commonalities and differences in student perceptions of professionalism.

217 students in five programs (PA 71, PT 46, OT 29, CP 12, and BMS 59) completed a 22-item survey (response rate 79.5%). A Likert scale grading from 1 (hardly ever) to 5 (always) was used to assess professional attitudes and behaviors.

A mixed-model MANOVA, supplemented with post-hoc analyses, showed significant group by time interactions for 5 items. Sensitivity to differences and diversity of other people increased for BMS students, but decreased for PT students. Timeliness increased for BMS students, but did not change for PA students. Seeking out new learning experiences increased for BMS students, but did not change for PA or PT students. Taking a group leadership role increased for BMS students, decreased for PT students, while PA and OT students showed no change. Volunteering time to serve others decreased for OT and PA students, while BMS and BM students showed no change.

It is plausible that these findings emerge from differences in program curricula and specific training objectives. The findings provide initial insight to educators on ways that attitudes and behaviors pertaining to professionalism sometimes vary among students in different health science programs.