Clinical Competence Measurement Tool in Physiotherapy: Turkish adaptation, item reduction, validity and reliability

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to adapt the Clinical Competence Measurement Tool in Physiotherapy into Turkish (MTCCP_TR) and to evaluate its validity and reliability among senior physiotherapy students. METHODS: A total of 105 final-year students (76 female, 29 males; mean age: 23.1 years) from Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation departments participated. A standardized translation back translation protocol and expert review confirmed cultural and content validity. Content validity was confirmed by 10 academic experts (CVI = 1.00). Analyses included internal consistency, test–retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and construct validity assessed via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Internal consistency was high, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.919 for the total scale, 0.831 for the Professional Behavior subscale, and 0.874 for the Clinical Reasoning subscale. Test–retest reliability was high, with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from 0.984 to 0.993 (p < 0.0001), confirming the scale’s temporal stability. CFA revealed a well-fitting model (χ2/df = 1.57, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.048) with factor loadings ranging from 0.550 to 0.807 CONCLUSION: The findings provide preliminary evidence that the MTCCP_TR is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing clinical competencies among Turkish physiotherapy students. It is recommended as a potential standardized evaluation tool in clinical education, although further validation in larger and more diverse populations is required.