We are honored to have received an invitation from Dr. David Baxter, the Editor-in-Chief, to serve as guest editors for this special issue of Physical Therapy Reviews. This issue is comprised of systematic reviews and meta-analyses completed by Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students in conjunction with their faculty mentors. Jette et al. [Citation1] stated that physical therapists believe that published literature is useful in guiding clinical practice and clinical decision making. We believe the manuscripts in this issue will make such a contribution.
Fruth et al. [Citation2] found that physical therapists reported several barriers to incorporating evidence-based practice into the examination, diagnosis and management of patients. Two of these barriers include an inability to locate published research and the inability to appraise the literature. Within some physical therapy programs, students gain these evidence-based practice skills through the completion of a systematic review with the guidance of a faculty research mentor. Some of these student-led projects are highlighted in this issue. Completion of a systematic review requires students to go through the process of research question development, completing a literature search using multiple databases, filtering potentially thousands of results to identify relevant literature, critically appraising identified studies, and summarizing the literature’s impact on clinical decision making. In fact, medical students who participated in research or publication activities reported that the process greatly enhanced their ability to incorporate the literature into their medical practice [Citation3].
To our knowledge, numerous DPT student-led systematic reviews are published and cited every year. However, there exists a paucity of literature on the publication rates of DPT students. In the nursing literature it has been reported that student abstracts presented at conference seldom make it to publication with a rate between 9% and 33% [Citation4,Citation5]. Faculty are required to publish and may find it advantageous to work alongside a group of students to meet this goal. Yet, it has been reported that faculty are often not confident in mentoring individuals and have difficulty finding adequate time to do so in an already full schedule [Citation6]. A recent study by Dowling et al. found that strong mentorship during the writing, submission, and revision phases is essential for student success in publishing [Citation7]. Completing a systematic review gives DPT students vital knowledge and skills regarding all aspects of the evidence-based practice process. As a result, we encourage DPT faculty to continue providing strong mentorship to students with an interest in research and publishing.
In this issue we have a myriad of systematic reviews and meta-analysis spanning a wide variety of practice areas within the physical therapy profession. For example, this issue includes topics of: blood flow restriction training, the use of sit-stand workstation on pain, transition to adult healthcare for individuals with cerebral palsy, the use of auditory stimulation on balance in people post-stroke, the use of cryo-therapy for reducing fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis, interventions to reduce the risk of falls in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, physical and cognitive elements to improve gait in older adults, the management of pediatric and adolescent neck pain, vestibular rehab for the management of dizziness, and fidelity of comparison interventions in manual therapy trials. The wide variety of topics across the continuum of care is testimony to the breadth of expertise students develop during DPT education.
In summation, we thank all the physical therapy student-scientists and their faculty mentors who contributed to this special issue. Finally, we thank Dr. David Baxter and Physical Therapy Reviews for allowing us to share the talented work of dozens of DPT students from across the United States.
Assistant Professor and Director of Admissions, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
[email protected]
Joshua A. Cleland
Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Franklin Pierce University, Manchester, NH, USA
References
- Jette D, Bacon K, Batty C, et al. Evidence-based practice: beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of physical therapists. Phys Ther. 2003;83:786–805.
- Fruth SJ, Havertape L, Jones J, et al. Can onsite presentations led by physical therapist students increase clinicians’ confidence in aspects of evidence-based practice? A pilot study. J Phys Ther Educ. 2013;27:49–62.
- Zier K, Friedman E, Smith L. Supportive programs increase medical students' research interest and productivity. J Invest Med. 2006;54:201–207.
- Fernandez RS, Rowe R, Redfern J, et al. Knowledge dissemination resulting from the Australian Cardiac Rehabilitation Association annual scientific meetings. Heart Lung Circ. 2011;20:19–23.
- Chan JW, Graham CA. Full text publication rates of studies presented at an international emergency medicine scientific meeting. Emerg Med J. 2011;28:802–803.
- Minnick AF, Norman LD, Donaghey B, et al. Defining and describing capacity issues in US doctoral nursing research programs. Nurs Outlook. 2010;58:36–43.
- Dowling DA, Savrin C, Graham GC. Writing for publication: perspectives of graduate nursing students and doctorally prepared faculty. J Nurs Educ. 2013;52:371–375.