SDCA Jou nal o Physical The apy, Volume 3, June 2022
ISSN 2815-164X
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T ace s udy on he employmen s a us o BSPT g adua es o S . Dominic
College o Asia
Naizel-Lyn P. De Guzman*, Alex Yahwhel Log onio
Physical The apy Depa men , School o Heal h Science P o essions, S . Dominic College o Asia,
Bacoo , Ca i e, Philippines
Abs ac
T ace s udies help ga he in o ma ion om di e en g adua es, usually o ack changes
a he le el o each pe son. This ace s udy de e mined he employmen s a us o
g adua es om he Bachelo o Science in Physical The apy (BSPT) p og am a S .
Dominic College o Asia (SDCA). A Google su ey was made by he esea che s and was
sha ed h ough social media. Ou o 76 g adua es, only nine alumni membe s om he
yea s 2018 o 2021 became esponden s o he s udy. Resul s show ha mos o he people
passed he local licensu e examina ions, a e wo king in hei home coun y, and a e
employed in physical he apy p o ession. The s udy also shows ha i is di icul o ack
g adua es and ha schools need o s ay in ouch wi h alumni and help hem g ow in hei
ca ee s.
Keywo ds: T ace s udy; Employmen s a us; G adua es; Physical he apy educa ion;
Alumni acking.
To ci e his a icle:
De Guzman, N. L. P., & Log onio, A. Y. (2022). T ace s udy on he employmen s a us o BSPT
g adua es o S . Dominic College o Asia. SDCA Jou nal o Physical The apy, 3, 7-11.
In oduc ion
T ace s udies a e me hods o see i academic p og ams ha e been help ul o s uden s and he job
ma ke and o imp o e he quali y o he p og ams en olled in he school. They also p o ide schools wi h
impo an in o ma ion abou how well hey p epa e s uden s o jobs, which helps hem decide and imp o e
be e (Schombu g, 2016; Teichle , 2017). These s udies can also help hem unde s and whe he g adua es
ha e he skills needed o wo k bo h in hei own coun y and in o he places (Helye & Lee, 2014; Okolie
e al., 2019).
The demand o skilled physical he apis s is g owing because o an aging popula ion, and mo e
people ha e ecognized he alue o ehabili a ion se ices (A nado i e al., 2021; Cichy e al., 2017). In
he Philippines, physical he apy educa ion is designed o de elop p o essionals who can add ess hese
heal hca e needs (Go gon e al., 2013). Howe e , a majo issue is he “b ain d ain,” whe e ained physical
he apis s lea e he coun y o be e job oppo uni ies and highe sala ies (G a on & Go don, 2019; Jesus
e al., 2018).
The e a e se e al ways o know i he ision o he depa men p o ides ou s anding physical
he apy educa ion. One way is acing whe e he g adua es ha e been doing now. Mos physical he apy
s uden s ha e he d eam o wo k ou side o he coun y o a high sala y, whe ein he p o ession has been
g ea ly app ecia ed and gi en impo ance in he medical ield as pa o he heal hca e sys em. To see i he
p og am is e ec i e in helping he wo k o ce, i is impo an o ollow he ca ee s o i s g adua es. T ace
s udies a e a s anda d way o colleges o ge eedback on p og am quali y, how well s uden s ind jobs,
and o guide u u e planning (Nudzo & Ansah, 2020; Sano e al., 2018).
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The easies way o ge ack o he Bachelo o Science in Physical The apy (BSPT) g adua es o
S . Dominic College o Asia is connec ing h ough social media. Acco ding o he s a is ics o g adua es
p o ided by he Regis a ’s O ice, he o al numbe o g adua es is 76. Reaching g adua es is a huge
challenge o he esea che s, as he esea che s did no know abou he whe eabou s o he s uden s.
Un il now, he e is no enough o ganized da a abou whe e SDCA’s BSPT g adua es a e and how
hey a e doing p o essionally. This lack o da a makes i di icul o he depa men o know i he
p og am’s goals a e success ully eaching s uden s, unde s and he licensu e examina ion success a es o
he g adua es, and desc ibe i hey a e wo king locally o ab oad. This s udy aims o ill he gap by looking
a he p og ess o SDCA's g adua es o Physical The apy.
This s udy de e mined he employmen p o ile o SDCA BSPT g adua es om ba ches 2018-
2021, speci ically:
• The demog aphic p o ile o he esponden s by ba ch yea .
• The pe o mance in local licensu e examina ions.
• The employmen s a us, including job ele ance and geog aphical loca ion.
Me hodology
This s udy used a desc ip i e ace me hod abou he employmen s a us o he BSPT g adua es
om S . Dominic College o Asia. The e we e 76 g adua es om ou di e en ba ches o yea s (2018 o
2021). Ou o hese, nine people ag eed o answe he su ey. A su ey was sen h ough social media g oup
cha s o ensu e mo e people could see i .
Using online pla o ms o collec ing da a is now common in ace s udies because i is cheape
and can each people who a e a away (Sanchez & Diaman e, 2017). Al hough his me hod is simple, ew
esponses we e ecei ed compa ed o using o icial acking sys ems, which migh p o ide a be e
unde s anding o he g adua es’ cu en si ua ion.
The s udy used a desc ip i e-quan i a i e app oach o de e mine abou he cu en p o essional
s a us o he g adua es. This ype o s udy assesses he cha ac e is ics and pa e ns o a g oup a a pa icula
ime, wi hou changing any a iables. A con enience sampling me hod was chosen, which means ha
people who we e easy o each and wan ed o ake pa in he s udy we e selec ed as pa icipan s.
An online su ey was conduc ed o collec da a h ough Google Fo ms, which had mul iple-choice
ques ions di ided in o h ee pa s:
• Demog aphic and Academic In o ma ion: Yea hey g adua ed.
• P o essional Licensu e: Ques ions abou aking and passing local licensing examina ions.
• Employmen and Ca ee De elopmen : Ques ions abou hei cu en job s a us, whe he
hei wo k ela es o physical he apy and whe e hey cu en ly wo k.
The su ey link was sha ed in an alumni social media g oup cha , which was done because i is
cos -e ec i e, and he me hod was easy and a o dable o conduc . The da a collec ion happened be ween
No embe and Decembe 2021. Desc ip i e s a is ics we e used wi h equency and pe cen age dis ibu ion.
Resul s we e made in o a abula o m o make he indings clea e o each a iable.
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Resul s and Discussion
Table 1. Employmen s a us o BSPT g adua es
Ca ego y
Finding
F equency
Pe cen age
Ba ch Rep esen a ion
Ba ch 2018
4
44.4%
Ba ch 2019
2
22.2%
Ba ch 2020
2
22.2%
Ba ch 2021
1
11.1%
Local Licensu e Exams (Took he exam)
Yes
7
77.8%
No
2
22.2%
Local Licensu e Exams (Passed he exam)
Yes
6
66.7%
No
3
33.3%
Employmen S a us (Cu en ly wo king)
Yes
8
88.9%
No
1
11.1%
Employmen S a us (Rela ed o physical he apy)
Yes
6
66.7%
No
3
33.3%
Employmen S a us (Wo king in he Philippines)
Yes
8
88.9%
No
1
11.1%
Table 1 e eals he employmen s a us o BSPT g adua es. Ou o 76 g adua es, nine (9) answe ed
he su ey, which means only 11.8% esponded. The e we e ou g oups o g adua es in esponses, wi h
he 2018 g oup ha ing he mos people and he 2021 g oup he lowes . In e ms o licensu e examina ion,
mos people who esponded, 77.8%, ook he local physical he apy boa d exam. 66.7% o he esponden s
passed he local licensu e exam. When i comes o employmen , 88.9% o he g adua es a e now wo king,
and all o hem a e employed in he Philippines. Howe e , 33.3% o hem a e wo king in jobs ha a e no
connec ed o physical he apy.
The same hing happens wi h o he heal h p o essions in he Philippines oo. A lo o g adua es
wan o wo k o e seas, bu hey end up s aying and wo king locally. This is p obably because he e a e no
many op ions o ge ing a license o wo k ab oad, money issues, and slow p ocesses o ge ing wo k
pe mi s o e seas (Cas o-Palaganas e al., 2017; O iga & Macabasag, 2021).
Mos BSPT g adua es a e al eady wo king, wi h he majo i y a e in physical he apy. A high
numbe o people passed he local licensu e exams (68.7%), bu mo e academic suppo is needed in
p epa ing o hese es s. Resul s show ha ha ing good e iew p og ams, s ong connec ions wi h alumni,
and in e na ional quali ica ions can make a big di e ence in passing exams and ge ing jobs (Al bach & De
Wi , 2018; Ve ma e al., 2018). Skills ha imp o e employabili y and global awa eness can be e p epa e
g adua es o bo h local and in e na ional wo k (Wa kins & Smi h, 2018).
The high employmen a e is a good sign, bu he e is a di e ence in how closely hei jobs a e
ela ed o physical he apy. One- hi d o hese jobs a e no ela ed o physical he apy, which is a conce n
because some g adua es did no pass he boa d exam and we e no allowed o p ac ice as physical he apis s
in he Philippines unde Republic Ac 5680 o “An Ac C ea ing he Boa d o Examine s o Physical
The apis s and Occupa ional The apis s”. This could be due o he compe i i eness o he job ma ke o a
change in ca ee goals.
I is e ealed ha all employed esponden s ha e been wo king in he Philippines in con as wi h
he belie ha many p o essionals lea e he coun y o be e oppo uni ies. This migh be because o he
small sample size o a ecen end du ing he pandemic and changes in immig a ion laws. This may also
be because o inancial p oblems o because hey choose o gain wo k expe ience igh a e g adua ion.
This s udy encoun e ed some majo limi a ions ha a ec he gene alizabili y and eliabili y
applied o he g adua es o BSPT in he ins i u ion:
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• The e was low esponse a e, wi h only 11.8% o he g adua es (9 ou o 76) aking pa in
he s udy, which is no enough o show he p ope ep esen a ion o all PT g adua es.
• Con enience sampling caused selec ion bias, which migh ha e made he esul s no show
he whole g oup.
• Sel - epo ed da a om he esponden s could be misleading depending on how accu a e and
hones hey we e, leading o a social desi abili y bias.
Conclusion and Recommenda ions
This s udy p o ides in o ma ion abou BSPT g adua es om SDCA who a e wo king a e hey
inish hei deg ees. Mos o hem a e cu en ly employed and a e wo king as physical he apis s. Howe e ,
since only a small numbe o people esponded, he e is a clea need o a mo e e ec i e way o ack and
s ay in con ac wi h alumni.
Ha ing a s ong alumni acking sys em helps schools igu e ou which me hods a e mos e ec i e
and ensu e p og ams mee quali y s anda ds o highe educa ion. The Commission on Highe Educa ion
(CHED) in he Philippines encou ages uni e si ies and highe educa ion ins i u ions o egula ly do ace
s udies o ind ou wha g adua es a e doing and make su e hei p og ams s ay ele an o he cu iculum
(Tu o e al., 2019). These sys ems can help keep physical he apy educa ion up o da e and aligned wi h
he needs o he heal hca e indus y. Mos g adua es a e wo king locally, bu challenges like passing he
licensu e exam and ma ching hei educa ion wi h hei p o ession ha e no been clea ly explained. Because
o hese majo limi a ions, indings should be conside ed and should no be used o ep esen all alumni in
he s udy.
The ins i u ion should c ea e an o icial alumni da abase managed by he egis a o a speci ic
alumni eam, wo king oge he wi h he In o ma ion and Communica ion Technology (ICT) depa men o
ga he da a in a uni o m and eliable way o u u e esea ch. Mo eo e , cu iculum should be assessed o
look a how g adua es (who passed he licensu e exam) did compa ed o na ional s anda ds o iden i y a eas
whe e he p og am can gi e be e and ac i e academic suppo . A ollow-up s udy wi h mo e g adua es
should be accomplished by u u e esea che s. Indi idual in e iews and g oup discussions mus also be
conduc ed o be e unde s and g adua es’ ca ee pa hs, challenges, and achie emen s.
Re e ences
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