COMPARISON OF PERCEPTION AMONG DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR PROFESSION IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

Background: Picking a study program before entering college is a standout amongst the most essential choices in life since it ordinarily decidesone's future profession way.Aims & Objective: The objective of the study is to compare the perception among students of 5 Years Doctor of Physical Therapy Program fromKing Edward Medical University (public) and Superior University, Lahore (private) about their profession in public and private sectoruniversities.Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was done for the study in which the participants were students of 5 Years Doctor of Physical TherapyProgram selected from King Edward Medical University (a top ranked public medical university) and Superior University (a top ranked privatemedical university) in 1 Year through convenience sampling. Chi square test was applied to compare both groups regarding their perception. P –Value was considered significant at 5%.Results: The sample size of this study was 300 out of which 200 (67%) students returned whereas 100 (33%) did not. Out of 200 students 72(36%) were from public university whereas 128 (64%) were from private university. A majority of 34(47.2%) male students were from publicuniversity and 86(67.2%) female students from private university. Majority of students from both the Universities assumed that physiotherapy hasa bright future 35(48.6%) public and 49(38.3%) private respectively.Conclusion: Students from both the universities chose physiotherapy as a carrer because of its bright future, they said that most physiotherapistsoffers musculoskeletal rehabilitation and there is an average status of physiotherapy in Pakistan whereas majority were satisfied with theprofession and its job opportunities and assumed that they will get respect from healthcare professionals, They thought that there is a lack ofknowledge among people about physiotherapy and were confident about their profession. In a nut shell students from both public and privateuniversities almost having the same perception regarding their profession.Key Words: Perception, Physiotherapy Profession, DPT Students, Public sector, Private sector

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