Images of Clinical Training Held by First-year Physical Therapy Students: Association Method and Quantitative Text Analyses

Abstract

[Purpose] To clarify the feelings of first-year physical therapy students regarding clinical training and the reasons behind those feelings. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-eight first-year physical therapy students were asked to choose words expressing their feelings associated with clinical training, and the reasons were analyzed using quantitative text analysis. [Results] Words chosen expressing feelings were: frightening, demanding, stress, awful, difficult, enjoyable, tough, severe, and anxiety; and the reasons given for these choices showed eight sub-groups in a co-occurrence network. [Conclusion] Even though first-year students held positive feelings toward learning through clinical practice, knowledge and skill are needed when interacting with real patients, and it seems that they held negative feelings about the necessity of adjusting to a new environment and much of the work and issues involved.