PHTR 710 - Research Externship II

Credit(s): 2
2 semester hours
Physical Therapy Externship provides students with individual mentorship and group supervision by a Mercy Mentor. The course is designed to continue and complete the students’ participation as an investigator in a physical therapy research project. Students work either individually or in small groups (up to four students) on their specific research project and meet periodically over the course of the academic year with their Mercy Mentor to review their work and plan future objectives. The Physical Therapy Program’s emphasis on critical thinking and active problem solving in clinical practice is further reinforced through the research component of the curriculum. In Research Externship, faculty and experienced clinicians serving as on-site research mentors provide ongoing supervision. There is an emphasis on using clinical reasoning concepts throughout the research process and to function effectively as a collaborative member of a research team. Students are expected to complete their data analysis and produce a peer reviewed level paper (based on submission guidelines for PT Journal) as part of Research Externship II.

Clinical research begins with the identification of a topic of interest, from which one or more questions are raised. Questions are based upon a thorough understanding of the topic in question. Questions can be formulated from studies in the literature that offer conflicting results, studies that leave a gap in the clinical knowledge or studies that open the door to future research by posing more questions based on what has already been done. Once the student is familiar with the topic and has formulated sound research questions the next step is to pose research hypotheses, based upon a theoretical framework, about the particular research questions. Methods are then developed to test these hypotheses and the study is carried out.

The Physical Therapy Program places great emphasis on critical thinking and active problem solving in clinical practice. A thorough understanding of (and the ability to apply) clinical research literature is tremendously important to this process. The more students are exposed to research, the greater their understanding will be when they become a practicing clinician.