Village, D, Clouten, N, Geigle, A, Uzarraga, A; Department of Physical Therapy, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI. Clouteno@andrews.edu.

PURPOSE: The integration of service into physical therapist education was examined in a previous study. The purpose of this study was to determine the use of service-learning, volunteerism, and pro bono clinics within physical therapist assistant education curriculum and to compare the results with the previous study. SUBJECTS: Accredited physical therapist assistant education programs in the US. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A questionnaire consisting of a total of 41 questions was sent to 274 accredited PTA programs. Section one addressed institution demographics and utilization of the aforementioned curriculum. Both open-ended and close-ended questions were included, particularly focusing on perceived benefits, and reasons for inclusion or non-inclusion in the curriculum. Section two addressed specific information regarding method of inclusion of service-oriented activities within the curriculum. The survey was content validated via pilot test. ANALYSES: Responses were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS version 10.1. Frequency of response was compared for all items. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty nine surveys were returned, yielding a response rate of 47%. Of the respondents, 60.5% reported having utilized at least one of the three service-oriented activities (service-learning, volunteerism, pro bono) within the past seven years. Of those that had not used service activities, 30.2% indicated they were planning on using service-learning in the future. There were multiple reasons for not implementing service-learning, but the most frequent were "no funding" and "not part of PTA education", both at 20.5%. At the time of the survey 30% of the programs included service-learning in their curriculum, 47% used volunteerism, and 10% offered pro bono clinics. CONCLUSIONS: The APTA mission statement and CAPTE guidelines emphasize the importance of service-minded practitioners. While the previous study found that 77% of PT programs used one of the three approaches to service, this study found 61% of the PTA programs included service activities. The most frequently cited barriers to inclusion of service activities in PTA programs were funding and the view that service activities were not part of PTA education. Service-learning was included in 53% of PT programs compared to 30% of PTA programs. Volunteerism was used similarly in PT and PTA programs but pro bono services were provided less frequently in PTA programs. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

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