Relationships between pre-licensure academic performance and self-assessed clinical competence after graduation in recently graduated physical therapists.

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between pre-licensure academic performance and self-assessed clinical competence, as measured by the Clinical Competence Evaluation Scale in Physical Therapy (CEPT), among novice physical therapists with up to 1 year of clinical experience after graduation. Methods: The study participants were 37 graduates of a vocational school who had passed the national physical therapy licensure examination and were employed in healthcare or welfare facilities. Pre-graduation performance data included first-year and second-year academic grades, scores in basic and professional foundational subjects, and Clinical Training III evaluations. Self-assessments after graduation were conducted using the CEPT, which contains 53 items across seven competency categories. Correlational analyses were performed to investigate associations between pre-graduation academic metrics and CEPT scores. Results: There were significant negative correlations between first-year and second-year academic performance, scores in basic professional subjects, advanced professional subjects and the combined scores of basic and advanced professional subjects with CEPT domains related to "Knowledge" and "Decision-making skills." Scores in basic professional subjects were the lowest among all categories and exhibited the strongest negative correlation with self-assessment. Conclusions: Students with higher levels of academic performance tended to rate themselves lower in early self-assessment after graduation, suggesting a possible lack of confidence in their knowledge or difficulties adapting to the complexities of clinical training. These findings highlight the potential value of integrating metacognitive support and self-assessment training into the physical therapy curriculum to foster practical competence and professional growth.