Developing consensus on competency-based educational standards in orthopaedic manual physical therapy fellowship...

Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (OMPT) fellowship education is recognized as the highest level of available clinical training for physical therapists in this specialty area. Competencies delineating the expected knowledge, skills, and performance standards for individuals trained at this level have yet to be established. This study along with congruent studies aimed to develop consensus on competencies and graduation milestones critical for OMPT fellowship education. The current study focused on the knowledge required for specialty practice and professionalism.

A 3-round modified Delphi was performed engaging a panel of international experts in OMPT education, practice, and leadership. Round I involved a panel of context experts developing competencies and associated graduation milestones for the knowledge for specialty practice and professionalism domain. Round II and III involved international stakeholders voting on the proposed competencies and milestones. Composite scores representing the strength of agreement which each component were presented.

Eight experts, including two fellowship program directors participated in Round I, developing 5 competencies and 25 graduation milestones for the Knowledge for Specialty Practice domain and 6 competencies and 22 graduation milestones for the Professionalism Domain. One hundred and forty-one participants across 14 countries participated in ranking the knowledge for specialty practice domain and 110 participants across 12 countries participated in ranking the professionalism domain. All 11 competencies and 47 graduation milestones met consensus. Patient safety, advanced musculoskeletal assessment and intervention application, self-reflection and commitment to lifelong learning, and ethical/cultural sensitivity all scored highly by the respondents. An emphasis was seen on aspects of person-centered care.

Results support the large breadth of knowledge and competence expected of OMPT fellows. This study should inform future efforts to move OMPT fellowship training toward competence-based education and assessment to ensure consistency across programs in reaching expected levels of competence.