Roach KE, Lindeblad S, Edwards M, Hanzel, R, Kotsovetis, N; University of Miami, School of Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Coral Gables, FL, USA. keroach@miami.edu.

PURPOSE: The number of elderly Americans is expected to double in the next 30 years producing a large demand for physical therapists in geriatric settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the job preferences of students entering a physical therapy educational program with particular emphasis on factors related to their willingness to work in a geriatric setting. SUBJECTS: A convenience sample of 93, first year physical therapy students from one DPT and two MSPT educational programs participated in this study. The age of the subjects ranged from 20 to 36 years with a mean of 24 years. Sixty-eight percent of the subjects were male and 35% had one or both parents born outside of the United States. METHODS AND MATERIALS: All subjects completed a 70 item questionnaire that included items dealing with beliefs and attitudes concerning a variety of potential job settings. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square and Mann Whitney-U statistics were used to compare students who were willing to work in geriatric settings to those who were not. RESULTS: "Out-patient sports/orthopaedics" was ranked as the most desirable job setting while "extended care/nursing home" was ranked as the least desirable. "Type of patient" and "job satisfaction" were tied as the most important factors in determining the desirability of a job setting. Subjects who were willing to work in geriatric settings differed from those who were not in terms of the proportion who had previous experience working with the elderly (85% vs 48%, p=.0013) but not in terms of prior "classes in aging" (50% vs 51%, p=.95). They also differed in their belief that "the elderly are difficult to motivate" (p=.02) and "the elderly have limited rehab potential" (p=.006). Subjects with one or both parents born outside of the US held more positive beliefs concerning the elderly both in terms of motivation (p=.03) and rehab potential (p=.008) than did subjects with both parents born in the US. CONCLUSION: Willingness to work in geriatric settings appears to be influenced by clinical contact with the elderly and cultural background. FUNDING SOURCE: University of Miami, Division of Physical Therapy.

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