The Results Are in: Leadership Competencies for the Physical Therapist
Purpose: The demonstration and embodiment of leadership behaviors are recognized to impact patient care and patient safety in healthcare. It is also recognized that physical therapists lack leadership competencies across the continuum of practice that are critical to active engagement and collaboration in healthcare systems. As the physical therapy profession continues to examine the importance of leadership, this presentation has three aims. First, recent research will be shared that has guided the development of leadership competencies for the physical therapist. Second, an organizing framework for physical therapist leadership competencies will enable the participants to integrate the leadership competencies into professional practice. And third, the leadership competencies presented will be assessed using entrustable professional activities (EPA).
Methods and/or Description of Project: An intensive review of the literature and examination of current, well-established leadership frameworks was the foundation of a comprehensive list of leadership skills and behaviors. A Delphi panel of content experts in physical therapy leadership were surveyed. Over two rounds of structured review, the experts examined each leadership skill and behavior for its importance to the physical therapist as a new graduate and for the physical therapist greater than one year from graduation. Consensus threshold was set priori at 0.80. The resultant list that met the consensus threshold regardless of years from graduation was sent via electronic survey to a variety of stakeholders to test its content validity. An organizing framework for the leadership competencies of a physical therapist was constructed from the results. From this framework, sample EPAs were constructed to illustrate the usability and the capability to measure leadership competencies across the continuum of professional practice.
Results/Outcomes: The current research on leadership competencies for the physical therapist illustrates a gap in understanding across multiple stakeholders. This data confirmed the need for ongoing conversation that will advance the intentional development and preparation of the physical therapist across the continuum of professional practice. This session will apply research findings and an organizing framework for these leadership competencies to develop sample EPAs.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: This session will promote adoption of an organizing framework of leadership competencies that will encourage standardization of physical therapist preparation. In addition, presenters will inspire needed dialogue on the utility of entrustable professional activities to measure physical therapist leadership competencies in the classroom, the clinic, and across professional practice.