Clinical Practice Satisfaction by Academic Performance of Three- and Four-Year Physical Therapy Students

This study analyze the relationship between academic performance and satisfaction with clinical practice among physical therapy students. A total of 117 students who had completed clinical training, recruited from two three-year colleges and three four-year universities in the Honam region, participated in the study. Data were collected over a 30-day period from September 1 to September 30, 2023. For this study, a modified version of a questionnaire used in previous research was employed. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 32 items, including 4 items on general characteristics, 26 items related to five domains of clinical practice satisfaction, and 1 item on clinical practice institutions. All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction. The relationship between students' academic performance and their clinical practice satisfaction was analyzed using Pearson’s correlation analysis, with all statistical significance levels set at a = 0.05. The results showed that several satisfaction items were positively correlated with academic performance, including clinical practice guidance, number of students per site, post-clinical evaluation satisfaction, and perceived necessity of clinical practice. These findings are significant in providing foundational data to improve the quality of clinical practice education for physical therapy students. By analyzing the connection between academic performance and satisfaction, this study offers insights for developing differentiated clinical training strategies based on student achievement levels.