Does ethnicity impact DPT students’ clinical readiness and performance? An exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of ethnicity on clinical readiness and performance among DPT students as determined by (1) clinical reasoning Physical Therapist Self-Efficacy (PTSE) score during clinical experiences(2) self-confidence rating treating patients, and (3) final APTA Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) clinical reasoning and summative ratings by clinical instructors. A 28 question survey was administered to 211 second- and third-year students in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program at mid-term of their clinical experience. Survey scores, PTSE scores, and CPI scores were analyzed using a Kruskal-Wallis test for differences between groups. All ethnic groups demonstrated strong clinical readiness and performance during all clinical experience levels. Ethnic groups did not differ in clinical reasoning self-efficacy or confidence treating patients. Although the gap appears to be closing, there continues to be underrepresentation of ethnic groups in DPT academic programs