Open AccessInvestigating Visual–Spatial Abilities in Students and Expert Physical Therapists
Author(s) -
Felicity Radan,
Nicole Johnston,
Nguyen Chi Hai,
Alexander Restrepo,
Rachel Varga,
Kara K. Patterson,
Dina Brooks,
Julie Vaughan-Graham
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
physiotherapy canada
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.389
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1708-8313
pISSN - 0300-0508
DOI - 10.3138/ptc-2018-0091
Subject(s) - psychology , aptitude , clips , test (biology) , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , medicine , developmental psychology , paleontology , surgery , biology
Purpose: Visual-spatial abilities (VSAs) - the aptitude for mentally processing, retaining, and manipulating visual input - are used by physical therapists in movement analysis. Superior VSAs have been demonstrated in experts compared with novices in other fields, including surgery, anatomy, and aviation, but no literature has investigated VSAs in physical therapy. The purpose of this study was to quantify VSAs in expert and student physical therapists and investigate the differences between the two groups. Our results could assist future researchers in identifying areas for skill development and improved clinical competency in students and novice therapists. Method: Expert physical therapists and first-year PT students completed four computerized VSA tests in the Psychology Experiment Building Language programme: Four-Choice Response, Sequential Pattern Comparison, Mental Rotation, and Situation Awareness. Results: A total of 16 participants were recruited for each group. Expert physical therapists responded more accurately to the Four-Choice Response test, but not significantly so ( p = 0.06), and with a significantly slower response time than student physical therapists ( p = 0.03). No other differences were found. Conclusions: These findings suggest that expert physical therapists use selective attention more effectively and may value accuracy over speed. No differences were found in other measures of VSAs. Further studies are required to confirm and expand our findings.