Examining the Impact of an Intervention Designed to Improve National Physical Therapy Examination Performance Among Physical Therapist Education Program Graduates

Ryan Dombkowski; Steven Sullivan; Tricia Widenhoefer; Thomas Gus Almonroeder

doi:10.1097/JTE.0000000000000383

Examining the Impact of an Intervention Designed to Improve National Physical Therapy Examination Performance Among Physical Therapist Education Program Graduates

J Phys Ther Educ. 2024 Dec 11. doi: 10.1097/JTE.0000000000000383. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ryan Dombkowski^{1

2

3

4}, Steven Sullivan^{1

2

3

4}, Tricia Widenhoefer^{1

2

3

4}, Thomas Gus Almonroeder^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Ryan Dombkowski is a professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Trine University.
² Steven Sullivan is an associate professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Trine University.
³ Tricia Widenhoefer is an associate professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Trine University.
⁴ Thomas Gus Almonroeder is an associate professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Trine University, 1819 Carew St., Fort Wayne, IN 46805 (almonroedert@trine.edu). Please address all correspondence to Thomas Gus Almonroeder.

PMID: 39660849
DOI: 10.1097/JTE.0000000000000383

Abstract

Introduction: National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) first-time pass rates are trending downward in recent years. As a result, there is a need for programs to identify ways to promote improved NPTE performance among their graduates.

Review of literature: Previous studies have identified factors that can be used to predict an individual's chances of passing the NPTE. However, to our knowledge, there are no published studies describing interventions designed to improve NPTE performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a novel intervention, which involved providing students with an individualized predicted NPTE score combined with faculty advising to support their NPTE preparation.

Subjects: This study included members of 6 consecutive cohorts (190 total graduates) from an entry-level doctoral physical therapist education program.

Methods: The members of the first 3 cohorts served as historical controls, while the final 3 cohorts received the intervention (experimental cohorts). The intervention involved using a regression model to predict students' NPTE scores based on their prior academic performance. Faculty then shared these predicted scores with students and provided individualized advising to support their NPTE preparation. Regression analyses were conducted to compare NPTE performance for the control and experimental cohorts, while accounting for between-group differences in academic performance.

Results: On average, the experimental cohorts performed 25.9 points higher on the NPTE and had over 5 times greater odds of passing the NPTE, compared to those in the control cohorts, after accounting for the covariates within the regression models.

Discussion and conclusion: Our intervention, which combined providing students with their predicted NPTE scores and faculty advising to support students' NPTE preparation, was feasible to implement without requiring extensive additional resources. It appears that our novel intervention is a viable approach for promoting improved first-time NPTE performance.