Perceived Impact on Physical Therapist Students of an International Pro Bono Clinical Education Experience in a Developing Country

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Fall 2004 by Sawyer, Karen L, Lopopolo, Rosalie

The focus group was audiotapcd, and the audiotapc was transcribed verbatim. Although notes were taken, they were not used because the audiotape was easily understood. The transcribed input was analyzed using content analysis, which has been shown to be a helpful tool in understanding what a person is thinking.21 Coding the data for categories and themes was done Independently by the primary researcher and by an expert in qualitative research from the field of sociology.22-24 After both coders had read the transcription, they met and agreed on the two general categories in which the coding would occur: worldview and self. As shown in Figure 1, four categories emerged from the independent open coding: the broad categories of worldview and self and the two subcategories of worldview specific to physical therapy and of self in the role of a PT student.

Following the initial agreement on the four categories, the coders independently analyzed the data by the process of axial coding, that is, grouping similar concepts together as themes.23 They met again to compare individual rationales for selecting the labels for the themes and for placing the themes within the aforementioned categories. As the words used to describe the themes varied because of the different disciplines the coders represented, terminology familiar to PTs was selected. This independent and collaborative process helped to ensure the dependability of the coding and the emerging themes.23

In order to limit potential researcher bias, a member check was used to establish the trustworthiness of the reported data from the focus group discussion.24 The categories and themes, including exemplars, were e-mailed to one of the student participants. The participant response indicated that the categories, themes, and exemplars were representative of the content of the focus group. The student also read the "Results" section of this article and responded that it was an accurate reflection of the content of the focus group discussion.

RESULTS

Students expressed the belief that the international clinical education experience in Jamaica fostered an expanded worldview and growth within themselves, as Figure 2 depicts. Four general categories of change that the students perceived, shown in Table 3, emerged from the focus group data. These categories were: (1) an expanded worldview, (2) an expanded view of physical therapy, (3) changes within themselves, and (4) changes within themselves in the role of PT student. Students believed that these changes were facilitated by the week in Jamaica and that these changes had a permanent, positive influence on them. One student summarized the experience with the following comment:

Come, Learn a lot about yourself.... That's what I told first- and second-year [PT students]. Just go, and you will discover things about yourself that you didn't know existed. (M:472;354-356)

Upon reflecting on the experience, another student said she attempted to express to others the value of the experience in this way: