Nigerian physiotherapists’ knowledge and attributes of professionalism

Abstract

Background: It has been reported in the extant literature that the attributes of professionalism vary widely with gender, age, the level of education, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds and between professions. This study evaluated Nigerian physiotherapists’ knowledge and attributes of professionalism and also examined the influence of demographic variables on their professionalism. Methods: One hundred and forty-nine physiotherapists recruited from four randomly selected University Teaching Hospitals completed a Professionalism Inventory that assesses demographic variables, knowledge of professionalism and attributes of professionalism – clinical competence, a spirit of inquiry, accountability, autonomy, advocacy, innovation and visionary, collegiality and collaboration, and ethics/value. Results: The physiotherapists’ average knowledge of professionalism score was 62%, and the average attributes of professionalism score were 63/80 (79%). The physiotherapists who are married, older than 40 years, and with a doctorate, with 16–20 years of work experience, and employed in the neurology practice setting demonstrated significantly (p < 0.01) higher knowledge of professionalism than their respective counterparts. Similarly, married physiotherapists and those with a doctorate, employed in the orthopedic/sports practice setting embodied higher attributes of professionalism than their counterparts. Conclusions: The poor knowledge of professionalism reported for the physiotherapists in this study has implications for curricula and licensure reforms in Nigeria.

Keywords

• professionalism
• knowledge of professionalism
• attributes of professionalism
• fundamental elements of professionalism
• core values of professionalism
• self assessment