Examining relationships between the clinical learning environment and clinical reasoning in physical therapy education

Purpose: Newly graduated physical therapists are expected to demonstrate high levels of clinical reasoning. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs should ensure clinical education experiences foster clinical reasoning. Minimal evidence exists regarding factors that influence physical therapy clinical learning environments (CLE). The purpose of this study was to examine associations between factors DPT students perceive to impact CLE and students’ self-efficacy in clinical reasoning. Methods: This quantitative exploratory correlational study electronically surveyed 45 graduate physical therapy students enrolled in their final year of DPT education programs upon completing their terminal clinical education experience. The Physical Therapy Self-Efficacy Scale and the abbreviated Clinical Learning Environment Inventory-19 (CLEI-19) were used to assess self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and perceived personalization, student involvement, task orientation, innovation, and student satisfaction in CLE, respectively. Inferential and descriptive statistics assessed the relationships between self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and the previously mentioned CLEI-19 factors. Results: Very weak to weak, positive relationships that were not statistically significant were identified between self-efficacy in clinical reasoning and perceived personalization (rs(43) = 0.21, P = 0.163), student involvement (rs(43) = 0.14, P = 0.375), task orientation (rs(43) = 0.03, P = 0.867), innovation (rs(43) = 0.16, P = 0.286), and student satisfaction (rs(43) = 0.28, P = 0.064), respectively, in CLE. Conclusion: DPT programs can use this study to determine which factors in physical therapy CLE relate to self-efficacy in clinical reasoning. The results of this study can be used to guide future research in identifying perceived influential factors in physical therapy CLE.