Essential Skills and Attributes for MPT Students

The University of Saskatchewan program in Physical Therapy is responsible to society to provide enrolled students with structured learning opportunities to progressively develop the qualifications (academic knowledge, professional behaviors, attitudes, and clinical skills) to enter the profession of Physical Therapy. The purpose of this document is to describe the skills and attributes that students are expected to develop through learning, practice, and appropriate support while completing the Master of Physical Therapy program. These skills and attributes support safe, ethical, and effective participation in academic, laboratory, community, and practice-based learning environments. 

Students interested in pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy are encouraged to review this document to support informed decision-making and self-reflection. 

An offer of admission to the Physical Therapy program should not be interpreted as evidence that the Physical Therapy program has independently verified an applicant’s skills and attributes in the domains described below. Rather, the skills and attributes described below represent foundational requirements that students may possess or be able to develop with appropriate supports and reasonable accommodations, in achieving the competency standards and occupational expectations of the profession. 

The competency standards for Physical Therapy are described in the Competency Profile for Physiotherapists in Canada. For this reason, students admitted to the Physical Therapy program may possess or build the skills and abilities described below in order to be able to develop the competencies required of an entry-to-practice Physical Therapist. Students develop and demonstrate sound clinical and professional judgment and demonstrate responsible decision making to become graduates who are cognizant of practice accountability issues, laws, regulations, professional codes of ethics and standards of practice. 
 
In addition to obtaining a degree in Physical Therapy, it is a requirement that an individual pass the Canadian Physiotherapy Examination (CPTE) to obtain registration/licensure as a Physiotherapist in most jurisdictions in Canada.  For more complete information about the national Physiotherapy Competency Examination, consult the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR). 

Reasonable accommodation and supportive strategies may be used to meet program requirements. Students are encouraged to be proactive in engaging with Access and Equity Services to explore accommodations. They are expected to familiarize themselves with the accommodation process early in the program and follow the policies and procedures of the University and the School of Rehabilitation Science. 

Aptitude and Attitude 
Students seeking to enter the Physical Therapy program are expected to have an interest in human movement, health, and a desire to assist individuals to maximize their mobility, function and life participation. They will demonstrate sensitivity, compassion, integrity, and concern for others.  

Students possess the cognitive abilities to understand and develop the theoretical knowledge and technical expertise to work collaboratively with their peers, patients, and colleagues. They are expected to be respectful of individuality and diversity and build trusting relationships. Students are expected to engage with humility and openness and to respond constructively to feedback. 

Students will demonstrate effective interpersonal and professional skills to engage and motivate patients and families, demonstrate creative problem-solving skills, and manage multiple, potentially competing demands. 

Information Gathering/Sensory Skills 
Students will participate in learning situations that require skill in gathering information about a patient during an assessment. This information is typically acquired through observing, listening, and palpating parts of the body. Students shall be able to gather, interpret, and integrate relevant information including detection of tissue texture and quality and thermal changes. Gathering information also includes reading charts or written documentation and using assessment tools with or without accommodation. 

Communication Skills 
Students are expected to be able to speak and write English, understand both spoken and written English at a level to effectively and efficiently elicit and provide information and to avoid errors that may compromise patient safety.  

Students will progress to observe patients, describe mood, activity, posture, and interpret non-verbal communication, while considering individual differences in expression and associated meaning. They will develop an understanding of how they use nonverbal signals and how others receive them.  

Students learn to understand complex medical and technical information and communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, families, and any member of the health care team. Students will develop the skills to accurately summarize a patient’s condition, assessment findings and intervention plan verbally and in written form to meet regulatory and organizational documentation standards. 

By entry to practice, students are expected to demonstrate a high level of communication ability as required for patient safety, informed consent, and ethical independent interaction with patients. The level of communication fluency required may exceed that assessed in standard language proficiency tests. 

Critical Thinking Skills 
Students will be expected to demonstrate the cognitive skills and memory necessary to measure, calculate, reason, and synthesize information. They will demonstrate the ability to comprehend multidimensional and spatial relationships. These comprehensive problem-solving tasks are expected to be done within timeframes appropriate to clinical and learning contexts.    

Students will be expected to assess their own performance to further direct their learning. Effective problem solving and judgment are necessary to address patient needs and engage the patient in a safe and efficient manner. Students will demonstrate critical appraisal skills in order to build a foundation for evidence-based practice. Students will develop these critical thinking skills in their course work both at the University and in the clinical environment. 

Psychomotor/Physical Skills 
Students will be expected to demonstrate sufficient motor function to safely perform initial and ongoing assessments and interventions on a patient, including collecting data and performing assessment measures. Some of these tasks can be completed with reasonable accommodations or adaptive strategies to support safe, effective, and inclusive participation.  

Students will develop the ability to use common diagnostic aids or instruments either directly or in an adaptive form and provide appropriate physical guidance for exercise and functional movement through instruction or demonstration. Students are expected to be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to ensure patient safety and treatment effectiveness, either through the students’ own movement or through their ability to guide or direct the movement of others.  

Learning activities may include positioning patients, balance, gait or transfer training; mobilization techniques, therapeutic exercise, and working in confined spaces. Students are expected to have the endurance in classroom, laboratory, and clinical learning activities that may require sitting, bending, pushing, pulling, reaching, walking or standing for extended periods. 

Emotional Health 
Students are expected to demonstrate emotional health sufficient to fully engage in their intellectual abilities in the context of the physical, emotional, and mental demands of the program. Students will demonstrate adaptability to changing environments and the ability to function effectively under stress.  

Students will build the capacity to form mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, families, and other members of the health care team. Students are expected to engage respectfully in emotionally complex or ethically challenging situations and to seek support when needed. 

Professional resilience is understood as a supported and developmental process rather than an expectation of individual endurance.