Development of a List of Affective Competencies and Behavioral Indicators for Physical and Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Background: Affective competencies, as demonstrated by behaviors acted upon by people, are essential components in providing optimal care and receiving trust from patients and clients of physical (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs). These, along with knowledge and skills, have to be developed early on in the educational system. If these are generated, PT and OT schools will be guided on how to inculcate them in their respective outcomes-based education designs, from planning to assessment. Assessment of the manifestation of these affective competencies is a challenge to educators; thus, the need for behavioral indicators for each. This study developed a list of the necessary affective competencies and their behavioral indicators for PT and OT. Methodology: A sample of experts from different fields of practice in the PT and OT population groups underwent three rounds of generation and refinement to create a list of affective competencies and their consequent behavioral indicators. To come up with the final list, testing for group consistency was done using Cronbach’s alpha and mean ranks. Results: Forty-two PT and twenty-five OT experts generated the final list of affective competencies and their behavioral indicators. For the PTs, those competencies are accountability, adaptability/flexibility, altruism, compassion, creativity, diligence, effective communication, ethical reasoning, excellence, honesty, initiative, passion, patience, perseverance, professionalism, reliability, responsibility, self-reflection, and time management. For the OTs, these are altruism, compassion, conscientiousness, creativity, inquisitiveness, professionalism, and responsibility. Conclusion: The list of affective competencies and behavioral indicators generated by experts in this study were mostly reflective of the existing code of ethics of the professions, with some not stated explicitly but were reflected as such in the behavioral indicators of the other competencies.