Clinical performance assessment tools in physiotherapy practice education: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Physiotherapy Education
• Health Professions Education
• Assessment in Health Sciences

Background:

• Clinical Performance Assessment Tools (CPATs) are crucial for evaluating physiotherapy students' readiness.
• Existing CPATs lack consistent evidence of psychometric soundness and applicability across clinical settings.
• Inconsistent evidence challenges the accurate reflection of student competency in physiotherapy practice education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize evidence on the psychometric and edumetric properties of CPATs used in physiotherapy.
• To identify the strengths and limitations of current assessment tools in practice education.
• To inform the development of more robust and reliable assessment instruments.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive electronic database search was conducted from 1985 to 2015.
• Twenty papers representing 14 distinct CPATs were identified and selected.
• Two reviewers assessed the selected papers using a validated framework for data extraction and synthesis.

Main Results:

• Evidence regarding the psychometric testing of CPATs was inconsistent and of variable quality.
• Reporting of edumetric properties, crucial for clinical environments, was unpredictable.
• No CPAT achieved a Class 1 recommendation, with all evidence rated at Level C or lower.

Conclusions:

• CPATs in physiotherapy practice education exhibit poor reporting of psychometric and edumetric properties.
• There is a critical need for more rigorous approaches in the design and validation of CPATs.
• Collaborative efforts within and between professions are essential to enhance the rigor of physiotherapy student assessment.