Exploring Psychological Safety in Physical Therapist Clinical Education: A Mixed Methods Study.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Education
• Healthcare Professions Education

Background:

• Psychological safety (PS) is crucial for individuals to express themselves and share concerns without fear.
• In clinical learning environments, PS influences student engagement, learning, and patient safety.
• This study explored PS in physical therapist students during clinical experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the phenomenon of psychological safety (PS) in physical therapist students.
• To examine the relationships between PS and psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, and self-efficacy.
• To understand the impact of PS on learning and well-being in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• An explanatory sequential, mixed methods design was employed.
• Second-year Doctor of Physical Therapy students completed surveys before and after their first clinical experience.
• Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of survey respondents.

Main Results:

• All participating students reported experiencing PS during their clinical rotations.
• Significant decreases in psychological distress, anxiety, and stress were observed.
• General self-efficacy significantly increased following the clinical experience.
• Identified themes included characteristics of both safe and unsafe psychological environments.

Conclusions:

• A sense of PS positively influences students' engagement in learning and contributes to reduced stress and increased self-efficacy.
• Both students and clinical instructors share responsibility for creating and maintaining a psychologically safe learning environment.
• Preclinical preparation and ongoing communication with authentic feedback are key to fostering PS.