A content validity of a clinical education performance tool: the physical therapist manual for the assessment of clinical skills.
OBJECTIVE
The content validity for evaluation tools currently used in student physical therapists' (PT) clinical education has not been reported previously. This study assessed the content validity of the Physical Therapist Manual for the Assessment of Clinical Skills (PT MACS).


METHODS
Twenty-eight Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education were recruited from accredited professional PT education programs in the United States.


METHODS
A survey was developed to match PT MACS skills to criteria from The Guide and A Normative Model. The survey was mailed these Academic Coordinators, who indicated their level of agreement on how the skills were matched to the criteria.


RESULTS
The Academic Coordinators strongly agreed or agreed that 50 of 53 skills matched the criteria from The Guide and/or A Normative Model. They indicated with a visual analog scale that the PT MACS describes student behaviors needed for success in a clinical education experience.


CONCLUSIONS
The PT MACS can be considered to have good content validity in describing the behaviors needed for success in a clinical education experience.
Stickley
Lois A
LA
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas 79109, USA. Lois.Stickley@ttuhsc.edu
D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty / Q000193:education*; D012576:Schools, Health Occupations; D013336:Students, Health Occupations