A study of the essential functions required of physical therapy students

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was established to assure qualified individuals with disabilities access to employment and programs provided through the public sector. In order to determine if an individual is a qualified applicant for programs or services, the ADA states that applicants must be able to complete the essential eligibility requirements of the program with or without reasonable accommodation. The review of literature did not reveal any studies concerning the essential functions that should be required of physical therapy students. A pilot study conducted in 1993 revealed that eight physical therapy educational programs had lists of essential functions. The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of physical therapy educational program directors concerning the essential functions physical therapy students, as potential practitioners, must be capable of completing with or without reasonable accommodation. The selected methodology was a three round Delphi technique. Nine essential functions were identified from existing lists of essential functions. Participants had the opportunity to modify or make additions to the initial list in the first round and rate the items in the last two rounds using an ordinal scale. Fifty-eight program directors participated in Rounds 1 and 2. In the final round, 52 program directors completed the process. All participants rated communication skills and practicing in a safe, ethical and legal manner as definitely essential functions. Near consensus (95-99%) agreement was noted additionally in determining physical therapy needs of patients with movement dysfunction and demonstrating ability to apply universal precautions. The performance of treatment procedures and assessment procedures were rated definitely essential by 90-95% of the participants. The least agreement was noted with the essential function of participation in the process of scientific inquiry. Half of the participants rated this item definitely essential. In comparing the responses of bachelor's and master's programs, the median response for master's programs was definitely essential. Whereas, the median response for bachelor's programs was somewhat essential. Programs with 40 or fewer students rated this item higher than larger programs. The results of this study should serve as a reference for physical therapy educational programs to develop lists of essential functions required for their students. The lists should be shared with all potential applicants to assist with qualification decisions.