Opinions of physical therapy education program directors on essential functions

The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of directors of physical therapy education programs concerning the essential functions physical therapist students must be able to complete, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Fifty-eight physical therapy education program directors participated.

Participants completed surveys as part of a three-round Delphi technique. They had the opportunity to modify or make additions to the initial list in the first round and rate the items in the last two rounds using an ordinal scale.

All participants rated communication skills and practicing in a safe, ethical, and legal manner as definitely essential functions. Nearly universal agreement (95%-99%) was present for determining physical therapy needs of patients with movement dysfunction and demonstrating the ability to apply universal precautions. Performance of treatment procedures and performance of assessment procedures were rated essential by 90% to 95% of the participants. The least agreement was found for participation in the process of scientific inquiry.

There is agreement among the physical therapy education program directors concerning the essential functions that should be required of students. The results of this study should serve as a reference for physical therapy education programs for developing the essential functions required of students.