Professional Development Needs and Preferences of Physical Therapist and Physical Therapists Assistants Serving Persons with Multiple Sclerosis
Angela Cummins, SPT; Kristen Evans, SPT; Jennifer Kienstra, SPT; Kyle Lyon, SPT; Kayla Wellemeyer, SPT
Faculty Mentors: Kirsten Potter, PT, DPT, MS
Purpose/Hypothesis: Persons with MS (pwMS) present with a wide variety of symptoms that require skilled care; thus, they may struggle to find healthcare providers with expert MS-related knowledge. Continuing education (CE) can benefit physical therapists (PT) and physical therapist assistants (PTA) treating pwMS. Little research exists that has explored the CE needs and preferences of providers serving pwMS. Turner et al1 found that an interdisciplinary and experienced group of MS providers desired education on fatigue, cognition, and disease modifying agents, and they preferred in-person CE courses. The purpose of our study was to explore the CE needs of PTs and PTAs specific to the care of pwMS, preferred methods for attaining CE, and facilitators and barriers related to seeking CE.
Number of Subjects: 33 (30 PT and 3 PTA)
Materials/Methods: PTs and PTAs were recruited via the healthcare provider list of the Mid America Chapter of the MS Society. Information was collected via an online survey with questions pertaining to: 1. Demographics, 2. Experience with pwMS, 3. Professional development needs, 4. Preferred methods for obtaining CE, and 5. Barriers and facilitators to obtaining CE.
Results: The majority (75%) of respondents had over 10 years of clinical experience and 68.8% worked in an out-patient setting. Nearly all (97%) treat fewer than 5 individual clients with MS per month. Few (6.25%) reported that their facility requires specific training pertaining to the management of pwMS. Topics of interest for CE were exacerbation management (64.5%), gait exam/training (61.3%), balance exam/training (58.1%), fatigue management (58.1%), and fall risk management (51.6%). The top five preferred methods for obtaining CE were in-person conferences (68.75%), scientific literature (34.38%), MS Society website and resources (31.25%), and inservice training and colleagues in own profession (both 28.1%). Facilitators to CE included an increase in knowledge base/competency (90%), interest in certain topic area (90%), pertinence to current caseload (86.7%), meeting licensure requirements (86.2%), and keeping up to date with research (83.3%). Barriers to CE included cost of travel (80%), time of travel (80%), social commitments (76.7%), professional commitments (76.6%), and cost of CE activities (70%).
Conclusions: PTs and PTAs desire CE in areas of MS care that are challenging to manage (e.g., fatigue and exacerbation management) and those that are closely related to the scope of PT practice (e.g., balance and gait). Despite greater availability of technology, PTs and PTAs identify in-person CE courses as the preferred method of obtaining new knowledge. Yet, cost and time of travel are key barriers to attending CE courses.
Clinical Relevance: Knowledge gained in this study can assist the APTA Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapists in developing CE courses for PTs and PTAs who treat persons with MS.
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Lynne Clarke OTD, MS, OTR/L; Ketti Coffelt, OTD, MS, OTR/L; Evan Cohen PT, PhD NCS (Rutgers University); Susan Engel (Mid America Chapter – MS Society); Kendra Gagnon, PhD, PT; Jean Hiebert, PhD, PT; and Amy Yorke, PT, PhD, NCS (University of Michigan – Flint) for providing feedback on our survey. Thanks also to the health care providers and persons with MS who provided input into our survey design, and to those who participated in our study.
Angela Cummins, SPT; Kristen Evans, SPT; Jennifer Kienstra, SPT; Kyle Lyon, SPT; Kayla Wellemeyer, SPT
Faculty Mentors: Kirsten Potter, PT, DPT, MS
Purpose/Hypothesis: Persons with MS (pwMS) present with a wide variety of symptoms that require skilled care; thus, they may struggle to find healthcare providers with expert MS-related knowledge. Continuing education (CE) can benefit physical therapists (PT) and physical therapist assistants (PTA) treating pwMS. Little research exists that has explored the CE needs and preferences of providers serving pwMS. Turner et al1 found that an interdisciplinary and experienced group of MS providers desired education on fatigue, cognition, and disease modifying agents, and they preferred in-person CE courses. The purpose of our study was to explore the CE needs of PTs and PTAs specific to the care of pwMS, preferred methods for attaining CE, and facilitators and barriers related to seeking CE.
Number of Subjects: 33 (30 PT and 3 PTA)
Materials/Methods: PTs and PTAs were recruited via the healthcare provider list of the Mid America Chapter of the MS Society. Information was collected via an online survey with questions pertaining to: 1. Demographics, 2. Experience with pwMS, 3. Professional development needs, 4. Preferred methods for obtaining CE, and 5. Barriers and facilitators to obtaining CE.
Results: The majority (75%) of respondents had over 10 years of clinical experience and 68.8% worked in an out-patient setting. Nearly all (97%) treat fewer than 5 individual clients with MS per month. Few (6.25%) reported that their facility requires specific training pertaining to the management of pwMS. Topics of interest for CE were exacerbation management (64.5%), gait exam/training (61.3%), balance exam/training (58.1%), fatigue management (58.1%), and fall risk management (51.6%). The top five preferred methods for obtaining CE were in-person conferences (68.75%), scientific literature (34.38%), MS Society website and resources (31.25%), and inservice training and colleagues in own profession (both 28.1%). Facilitators to CE included an increase in knowledge base/competency (90%), interest in certain topic area (90%), pertinence to current caseload (86.7%), meeting licensure requirements (86.2%), and keeping up to date with research (83.3%). Barriers to CE included cost of travel (80%), time of travel (80%), social commitments (76.7%), professional commitments (76.6%), and cost of CE activities (70%).
Conclusions: PTs and PTAs desire CE in areas of MS care that are challenging to manage (e.g., fatigue and exacerbation management) and those that are closely related to the scope of PT practice (e.g., balance and gait). Despite greater availability of technology, PTs and PTAs identify in-person CE courses as the preferred method of obtaining new knowledge. Yet, cost and time of travel are key barriers to attending CE courses.
Clinical Relevance: Knowledge gained in this study can assist the APTA Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapists in developing CE courses for PTs and PTAs who treat persons with MS.
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Lynne Clarke OTD, MS, OTR/L; Ketti Coffelt, OTD, MS, OTR/L; Evan Cohen PT, PhD NCS (Rutgers University); Susan Engel (Mid America Chapter – MS Society); Kendra Gagnon, PhD, PT; Jean Hiebert, PhD, PT; and Amy Yorke, PT, PhD, NCS (University of Michigan – Flint) for providing feedback on our survey. Thanks also to the health care providers and persons with MS who provided input into our survey design, and to those who participated in our study.