Within physical therapy, patient adherence usually relates to attending appointments, following advice, and/or undertaking prescribed exercise. Similar to findings for general medical adherence, patient adherence to physical therapy home exercise programs (HEP) is estimated between 35 and 72%. Adherence to HEPs is a multifactorial and poorly understood phenomenon, with no consensus regarding a common theoretical framework that best guides empirical or clinical efforts. Mental models, a construct used to explain behavior and decision-making in the social sciences, may serve as this framework. Mental models comprise an individual's tacit thoughts about how the world works. They include assumptions about new experiences and expectations for the future based on implicit comparisons between current and past experiences. Mental models play an important role in decision-making and guiding actions. This professional theoretical article discusses empirical research demonstrating relationships among mental models, prior experience, and adherence decisions in medical and physical therapy contexts. Specific issues related to mental models and physical therapy patient adherence are discussed, including the importance of articulation of patients' mental models, assessment of patients' mental models that relate to exercise program adherence, discrepancy between patient and provider mental models, and revision of patients' mental models in ways that enhance adherence. The article concludes with practical implications for physical therapists and recommendations for further research to better understand the role of mental models in physical therapy patient adherence behavior.

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Parallels between mental models of adherence for prescribed home exercise and other personal regimens suggest that patients adherence behavior to prescribed routines may be influenced by adherence experiences in other aspects of their lives. By gaining insight into patients adherence experiences, values, and expectations across life domains, clinicians may tailor supports that enhance home exercise adherence. Implications for Rehabilitation A mental model is the collection of an individual's perceptions, values, and expectations about a particular aspect of their life, which is based on prior experiences and strongly influences behaviors. This study demonstrated similarity in orthopedic outpatients mental models of adherence to prescribed home exercise programs and adherence to personal regimens in other aspects of their lives. Physical therapists should inquire about patients non-medical adherence experiences, as strategies patients customarily use to adhere to other activities may inform strategies to promote prescribed home exercise adherence.

The IKM is a simple, reliable, responsive, and valid method for assessing posture in patients with musculoskeletal conditions.

Introduction. Organizational socialization is a process by which institutions assist new faculty members' transition to their expected roles. These may include orientation sessions, mentoring pairings, and ongoing faculty development opportunities. There is a paucity of research identifying the experiences and perceptions of organizational socialization for physical therapy and athletic training junior faculty members. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the organizational socialization process for these two groups. Subjects. Junior faculty members in the fields of physical therapy (13) and athletic training (13) participated in this phenomenological qualitative study. Methods. Data were collected in a single phone interview, which was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed following the steps of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Expert review, multiple analyst triangulation, and member checking served to ensure trustworthiness of the findings. Results. Organizational socialization of junior faculty in athletic training and physical therapy revolves around the components of orientation activities and collegial workplace environments. Orientation activities are part of the onboarding process and usually include a formal session to learn about roles and responsibilities. Orientation can positively impact a faculty member's understanding of their role and integration to the culture of their institution. Collegial work environments are those where experienced faculty play an active role in supporting junior members. Because they provide junior faculty some freedom and flexibility in choice of mentor, informal mentoring relationships seem to be integral to this collegial environment. Conclusion. Though these areas may form an important foundation for organizational socialization, additional solutions are needed to optimize the processes by which new faculty are trained. Administrators and institutions should strive to create innovative orientation and onboarding programs that aid newly hired educator's integration.