Teaching to Lead: One Program's Experience With Integrating Personal Leadership Into a Doctor of Physical Therapy Curriculum

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs accept responsibility for the development of clinical skills and professional behaviors in students. Academic and clinical faculty endeavor to teach and mentor at the highest levels. Doctor of Physical Therapy programs that develop leadership intentionally, specifically personal, or self-leadership may be successful in leading positive change within their graduates' relationships, environments, and patient outcomes. Personal leadership means leading from within as an individual and does not require the individual to have a leadership title or role. It includes characteristics such as authenticity, passion, emotional intelligence, trustworthiness, and credibility. Case Description. This case report will unveil how 1 established residential DPT program integrated personal leadership explicitly as a curricular thread. The 3 pillars are leading self, leading others, and leading systems: organizations and communities. The program used evidence-based processes used to build materials, learning activities, and assessments. The program achieved purposeful integration, including academic/clinical faculty development and progressive student learning experiences. Outcomes. Program assessment through focus groups and curricular surveys shows that students value the curricular content in personal leadership and are meeting the curricular thread behavioral objectives. Discussion and Conclusion. The personal leadership curricular thread shows promise to promote leadership behaviors in students and graduates.