No abstract

Purpose: Multimedia is an effective tool to teach psychomotor skills to health care students. Video podcasting is a next step as educators seek methods to present psychomotor skills efficiently. The purposes of this pilot study were (1) compare the effectiveness of video podcasting to live demonstration for teaching psychomotor skills to Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students; (2) examine students' attitudes toward podcasts and (3) examine study behaviour of DPT students. Methods: Faculty developed podcasts depicting two sets of psychomotor skills for a basic skills course. A crossover design was utilised. For skill set #1, group A received podcasts and group B received live demonstration. For skill set #2, group A received live demonstration and group B received podcasts. Results: There were no differences in exam scores between groups and study behaviour varied significantly in one instance. Students' attitudes were discussed. Conclusions: Podcasting was as effective as live demonstration for presenting basic skills.

Manual therapy has been an approach in the management of patients with various disorders dating back to ancient times and continues to play a significant role in current health care. The future role of manual therapy in health care is an important area of research. This paper reviews the history of manual therapy, examines the current literature related to the use of manual techniques (including manipulation, massage, and nerve manipulation), and discusses future research topics. The literature related to manual therapy has historically been anecdotal and theoretical, and current research tends to have a generic approach with broad definitions of manual therapy and inconsistencies in the classification of specific disorders. Systematic reviews of various types of manual therapy have differed on their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of this treatment modality. The current demand in health care for evidence-based practice necessitates a movement towards more specificity in the research of the effectiveness of manual therapy, with emphasis on specific patient signs and symptoms and specific manual techniques that result in effective care.

No abstract

BackgroundEducators in allied health and medical education programs utilize instructional multimedia to facilitate psychomotor skill acquisition in students. This study examines the effects of instructional multimedia on student and instructor attitudes and student study behavior.MethodsSubjects consisted of 45 student physical therapists from two universities. Two skill sets were taught during the course of the study. Skill set one consisted of knee examination techniques and skill set two consisted of ankle/foot examination techniques. For each skill set, subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. The control group was taught with live demonstration of the examination skills, while the experimental group was taught using multimedia. A cross-over design was utilized so that subjects in the control group for skill set one served as the experimental group for skill set two, and vice versa. During the last week of the study, students and instructors completed written questionnaires to assess attitude toward teaching methods, and students answered questions regarding study behavior.ResultsThere were no differences between the two instructional groups in attitudes, but students in the experimental group for skill set two reported greater study time alone compared to other groups.ConclusionsMultimedia provides an efficient method to teach psychomotor skills to students entering the health professions. Both students and instructors identified advantages and disadvantages for both instructional techniques. Reponses relative to instructional multimedia emphasized efficiency, processing level, autonomy, and detail of instruction compared to live presentation. Students and instructors identified conflicting views of instructional detail and control of the content.

No abstract

No abstract

This case report shows the application of the upright motor control test in the physical therapy management of an individual following a stroke. The individual is a 43-year-old male who sustained an infarct of the right thalamus 2 days prior to inpatient rehabilitation admission. Observational gait analysis and the upright motor control test isolated the primary gait deficit as left hip and ankle extension in the stance phase of gait. Physical therapy interventions focused on specific functional tasks that challenged hip extension so that he could resume the activities in which he engaged prior to the stroke. After a 3 week length of stay in inpatient rehabilitation, the individual demonstrated an improvement in the outcome measures, functional progression with ambulation (level and stairs), and transfers sufficient to be discharged home. This case illustrates how standardized outcome measures assisted the clinician in isolating the gait impairments that limited his ability to ambulate within his home environment. Subsequently, the plan of care and physical therapy interventions focused on these deficits to maximize the functional outcomes.