The Time Is Now: Leveraging the Affective Domain in PT Education and Clinical Practice

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Physical Therapy Education
• Learning Domains

Background:

• Traditional learning domains are cognitive (head), psychomotor (hand), and affective (heart).
• Physical therapy education heavily emphasizes cognitive and psychomotor skills.
• The profession's mission necessitates competence in the affective domain (AD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of integrating the affective domain in physical therapy education.
• To advocate for a balanced approach encompassing cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning.
• To demonstrate how AD integration supports professional goals and societal needs.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing frameworks and pedagogical variables in physical therapy education.
• Analysis of the role of affective domain competencies in professional practice.
• Identification of strategies for curriculum integration.

Main Results:

• Recent frameworks identify key affective domain variables like shared values, collaboration, and social responsibility.
• Integrating AD equips future physical therapists with necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs).
• AD integration enhances the profession's ability to meet stakeholder needs and demands of clinical practice.

Conclusions:

• Explicitly incorporating the affective domain is vital for the sustainability and success of physical therapy.
• Curricular changes can be intentional and integrated, not necessarily monumental.
• The affective domain complements cognitive and psychomotor learning, directly impacting clinical practice and societal needs.