Perceived Leadership Practices in Year-One Students Enrolled in Professional Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs.
BACKGROUND
Leadership has been identified as an important attribute for health care professionals. Assessing leadership practices can help identify areas of strength or needed improvement for the development of leaders.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the perceived leadership practices of year-1 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, to determine if the participants' demographic variables were related to their perceived leadership practices, and to explore differences between participants and the general population.


METHODS
The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI Self) developed by Kouzes and Posner was used to assess leadership practices of year-1 DPT students at six Midwestern universities.


RESULTS
The leadership practices of 192 DPT students in highest to lowest order were Enable, Encourage, Model, Challenge, and Inspire. Age was found to be significantly correlated with the Challenge leadership practice. The order and means of some leadership practices of the DPT students were different than the general population.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides a baseline description of how year-1 DPT students perceived their leadership behaviors and how the LPI Self can be used to facilitate the development of leadership skills.
South University, 2157 Wm. S. White Bldg., 509 N Harrison St., Flint, MI 48502, USA. Tel 248-675-0265. llovasco@southuniversity.edu.
Laura
L
LoVasco
Sara
S
Maher
Kristine
K
Thompson
Christine
C
Stiller
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty; D013334:Students; D055815:Young Adult