Impact of a Leadership Development Program for Students in a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

AIMS: Physical therapists are needed in leadership roles to enhance participation in primary care delivery models. This study's purpose was to investigate the impact of a leadership development course in a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) curriculum on student physical therapist leadership practices. It was anticipated that students who completed a structured leadership development course would have a greater increase of leadership practices as measured by the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI-Self). LITERATURE REVIEW: Published articles on DPT student leadership offer foundational insight into mechanisms for enhancing leadership development. Little evidence exists in understanding how student physical therapists develop leadership practices. PARTICIPANTS: Ten DPT students participated in an elective leadership development pro¬gram; 22 classmates served as controls. METHODS: This was a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design. The LPI-Self and a demographic survey were completed prior to and immediately after a leadership development course. RESULTS: A significant increase (p=0.030) was found in total change score of the LPI-Self pre- to post-test in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: DPT students who participated in the leadership development program had significant increase in LPI-Self scores. These findings suggest that intentional leadership development implemented in DPT curriculum can increase leadership practices.

Perceived Leadership Practices in Year-One Students Enrolled in Professional Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs.

BACKGROUND: Leadership has been identified as an important attribute for health care professionals. Assessing leadership practices can help identify areas of strength or needed improvement for the development of leaders. OBJECTIVES: To describe the perceived leadership practices of year-1 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, to determine if the participants' demographic variables were related to their perceived leadership practices, and to explore differences between participants and the general population. METHODS: The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI Self) developed by Kouzes and Posner was used to assess leadership practices of year-1 DPT students at six Midwestern universities. RESULTS: The leadership practices of 192 DPT students in highest to lowest order were Enable, Encourage, Model, Challenge, and Inspire. Age was found to be significantly correlated with the Challenge leadership practice. The order and means of some leadership practices of the DPT students were different than the general population. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a baseline description of how year-1 DPT students perceived their leadership behaviors and how the LPI Self can be used to facilitate the development of leadership skills.