Physical Therapists' Perceptions of School-Based Practices.
OBJECTIVE
Surveys have reported that most school-based physical therapists perceive ideal practices are not commonly implemented in their settings. Our aim was to obtain a more in-depth understanding of these perceptions through open-ended inquiry.


METHODS
Qualitative data were derived from voluntary open-ended responses provided upon completion of a survey regarding school-based physical therapy practice. Of the survey's 561 participants, 250 provided open-ended commentaries that were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology.


RESULTS
Six qualitative themes emerged from the open-ended responses, including: In quest: Meeting students' school-based needs via physical therapy; Seeking relatedness: Finding working teams in the school system; Building understanding: Developing a voice/identity in the school context; Stretched beyond limits: Managing workloads; Networking: Coordinating services outside school to meet student needs; Defying definition: What does working in an educational model mean?


CONCLUSIONS
School-based physical therapists seek to meet educationally relevant physical therapy needs of students, ages 3 to 21 years. Successes appear woven of a multitude of factors such as therapist expertise, team dynamics, and district supports.
a 1 Physical Therapy Division, Wheeling Jesuit University , Wheeling, WV, USA.
Sheryl L
SL
Holt
b 2 Division of Physical Therapy, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY, USA.
Janice
J
Kuperstein
c 3 Division of Physical Therapy, University of Kentucky , Lexington, KY, USA.
Susan K
SK
Effgen
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D059825:Physical Therapists; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000458:organization & administration; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D060756:Social Networking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching; D016526:Workload
Actual practices; ideal practices; related services; school-based physical therapy