Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Title

Physical Therapist vs. PT/ATC Delegation of Duties to Athletic Trainers in the Orthopaedic Setting

Authors

Daniel Keith Hoctor, Nova Southeastern University

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Health Care Sciences - Physical Therapy Department

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1998

Publisher

Nova Southeastern University

NSUWorks Citation

Daniel Keith Hoctor. 1998. Physical Therapist vs. PT/ATC Delegation of Duties to Athletic Trainers in the Orthopaedic Setting. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Health Care Sciences - Physical Therapy Department. (121)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_pt_stuetd/121.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of physical therapists and physical therapist/athletic trainers on athletic trainer utilization in the physical therapy clinic.

Subjects: The subjects of this study were a random selection of 100 physical therapists and 100 physical therapist/athletic trainers.

Methodology: A survey with demographic variables and a list of tasks that physical therapists may choose to delegate was remodeled. Collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for frequency of responses. Crosstabs and Chi-Square analysis were performed for delegation of tasks. Alpha level was set at .05.

Results: Significance was found in both categories (patients with athletic injuries and patients with other mechanism of injury or disease), for the following tasks: electrical stimulation, treatment of arthritis, isokinetic testing, ultrasound, soft tissue/joint mobilization, treatment of neurological problems and PROM/stretching. There were more significant differences of delegating duties for patients with athletic injuries.

Conclusion: With the interpretation of the data with PT/ATCs responses suggested that athletic trainers deserve more consideration in tasks delegated within clinical roles, whereas physical therapists believed that the ATC should not be delegated most of the tasks within the study.

Disciplines

Physical Therapy