Exploration of the Perceived Value of Self-Leadership Capacity in Physical Therapist Clinicians

Research Objectives: To explore physical therapist clinicians’ perceived value of self-leadership in their clinical practice and their interactions with peers and interprofessional team members

Design: This qualitative study engaged participants in individual, semi-structured interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed using Temi. Dedoose, a data analysis program, provided secure and collaborative analysis. Study rigor was addressed by using multiple coders, memoing, and the member-checking process.

Setting: Interviews were conducted with physical therapist clinicians practicing in the acute hospital, outpatient orthopedics, outpatient hospital-based, and inpatient rehabilitation settings.

Participants: Purposeful sampling was used to recruit participants in the United States via the maximum variation strategy. Eleven licensed physical therapist clinicians with 2-39 years of clinical experience were recruited.

Inclusion criteria:
• Licensed physical therapist in the United States
• Currently practicing as a clinician for a minimum of 35 hours/week in a clinical practice setting
• Currently practicing as a clinician in a clinical practice setting for at least two years

Exclusion Criteria:
• Holds a formal management/leadership role/position in which time practicing in patient care is less than 50% of workload
• Serves as an owner of the clinical practice in which they provide patient care

Interventions: N/A

Main Outcome Measures: Emerging themes

Results: Four main themes emerged: Developing Expertise, Pursuing Professional Growth, Discovering and Amplifying Voice, and Advocacy. The “why” behind the actions of those interviewed was to influence patient outcomes and quality of care and to address role identity as a physical therapist in multiple contexts.

Conclusions: This is the first known exploration of the perceived value of self-leadership capacity in physical therapist clinicians. Self-leadership in physical therapist clinicians is perceived as valuable in developing expertise, pursuing professional growth, discovering and amplifying voice, and demonstrating advocacy. Leadership must be reframed as self-leadership, the precursor to leading others so that physical therapist clinicians can lead at all levels in everyday practice. Leadership must also be implemented as a domain of competency in entry-level physical therapy education such that professional formation is emphasized alongside clinical competence.

Author(s) Disclosures: None