Executive Functions and Student Success During Physical Therapist Education: An Exploratory Study.

Area of Science:

• Investigates the cognitive underpinnings of professional education.
• Focuses on the intersection of psychology and health sciences education.

Background:

• Clinical reasoning is essential for effective patient care and relies on executive functions (EFs).
• EFs encompass attention, inhibition, organization, and decision-making processes.
• Limited research exists on the relationship between EFs and success in physical therapy (PT) education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between executive functions and academic success in physical therapy graduate students.
• To determine if EF assessments can predict performance in PT educational programs.

Main Methods:

• Employed two distinct executive function tests.
• Assessed thirteen third-year physical therapy graduate students.
• Correlated EF test scores with culminating program scores and admissions data.

Main Results:

• A significant relationship was observed between executive function test scores and comprehensive examination results.
• Scores on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) were also correlated with executive function measures.
• Both executive function tests showed a relationship with different aspects of student academic achievement.

Conclusions:

• Executive function measures show potential for identifying students with strong clinical reasoning abilities.
• EF assessments may offer valuable insights into predicting student success in demanding physical therapy programs.
• These findings support the integration of cognitive assessments in evaluating readiness for clinical practice.