Nonclinical competencies: a survey of occupational health physical therapists

Consulting with business and industry represents a very new world for physical therapists--a world in which most have had little formal academic preparation. Some competencies in consulting in occupational health physical therapy are beyond specific clinical skills and knowledge. The purpose of this research was to survey occupational health physical therapists (OHPTs) concerning a previously identified list of nonclinical competencies in consulting with business and industry. The survey addressed how OHPTs rated the importance of these competencies, how they rated their own level of competence for each, and how they developed these competencies. The survey sample was based on members of the American Physical Therapy Association Orthopaedic Section's Special Interest Group in Occupational Health Physical Therapy. The response rate was 98% (61/62). Mean importance of competencies was 3.66/4.00 (range 3.00-3.88), which further validated the list of nonclinical competencies. The mean level of competence was 3.17/4.00 (range 2.40-3.50). The mean importance of individual competencies was consistently higher than level of competence. This discrepancy is of practical significance in terms of professional development of OHPTs consulting with business and industry. Primary sources of competence were practical experience (59.87%) and continuing education for physical therapists (15.51%). These results may indicate that current continuing education programs are not meeting OHPTs' educational needs and may serve as a basis for developing programs to better meet these needs. The survey instrument may help OHPTs identify and prioritize their own educational needs and to plan their own professional development accordingly.