Professional Physical Therapist Student Well-Being and Career Attitudes

This study assessed well-being in physical therapy (PT) students, sources of stress, and career attitudes. Studies of students in health care programs have found that these students experience higher levels of stress and anxiety compared to age- and gender-matched peers.

Pre-professional and professional PT students from a Midwestern University in Spring 2018 (n = 253) and 2019 (n = 232).

Surveys were used to assess stress, anxiety, and depression, sources of stress, and career attitudes in pre-professional and professional PT students.

Professional students reported experiencing higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than pre-professional students. Top sources of stress included time demands of the curriculum, amount of material to be learned in the curriculum, and finances. Additionally, career entrenchment was positively related to student stress, anxiety, and depression.

Stress, anxiety, and depression were higher in the professional PT students compared to the pre-professional PT students. Because students acknowledge that they would pursue PT again and do not plan to leave their program, we believe that reducing curriculum-related stressors would lead to improved well-being. These conclusions have implications for students in many health care programs.