Admission interview scores are associated with clinical performance in an undergraduate physiotherapy course: an observational study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine if there is an association between admission interview score and subsequent academic and clinical performance, in a four-year undergraduate physiotherapy course.DesignRetrospective observational study.Participants141 physiotherapy students enrolled in two entry year groups.Outcome measuresIndividual student performance in all course units, practical examinations, clinical placements as well as year level and overall Grade Point Average. Predictor variables included admission interview scores, admission academic scores and demographic data (gender, age and entry level).ResultsInterview score demonstrated a significant association with performance in three of six clinical placements through the course. This association was stronger than for any other admission criterion although effect sizes were small to moderate. Further, it was the only admission score to have a significant association with overall Clinical Grade Point Average for the two year groups analysed (r = 0.322). By contrast, academic scores on entry showed significant associations with all year level Grade Point Averages except Year 4, the clinical year.ConclusionsThis is the first study to review the predictive validity of an admission interview for entry into a physiotherapy course in Australia. The results show that performance in this admission interview is associated with overall performance in clinical placements through the course, while academic admission scoring is not. These findings suggest that there is a role for both academic and non-academic selection processes for entry into physiotherapy.