Perceptions of physical therapy competencies in rheumatology. Physical therapists versus rheumatologists

The purpose of this article is to report the differences in perceptions among three groups of respondents who assessed the importance of 80 competencies for entry-level physical therapists who treat patients with arthritis. Nonparametric statistics were used to analyze the responses of physical therapists and rheumatologists who completed a questionnaire regarding the competencies. I used the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance to make group comparisons and the Mann-Whitney U test to complete pair-wise comparisons. The results revealed significant differences of opinion among the groups (p = .007) for 20 of the 80 competencies. The significant differences in opinion were among physical therapy clinical educators (n = 100), physical therapy arthritis health professionals (n = 108), and rheumatologists (n = 80). Although the results suggested that some groups perceived certain physical therapy competencies in rheumatology to be useful but not essential for the entry-level physical therapist to perform, considerable variability existed within groups. Despite the variance in opinions, teaching of these competencies should be included in the entry-level physical therapy curriculum or in clinical settings.