Organizational socialization of physical therapists

Organizational socialization is the process by which an individual becomes a member of an organization. It involves interaction between the employee and the organization during recruitment, hiring, and training and continues as the employee's role in the organization is defined and develops. The individual and the employee each have a set of expectations for the other; the extent to which these expectations are recognized, communicated, and combined in a mutually agreeable "psychological contract" can influence the eventual effectiveness, satisfaction, and longevity of the individual as an employee. The purpose of this article is to describe organizational socialization as it applies to the physical therapy setting. The author makes recommendations for management of the process.