THE EFFECT OF CREATIVE DRAMA ON EMPATHIC TENDENCIES, COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING OF PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS

Abstract

The empathic tendency, communication skills, and critical thinking are the professional attitude behaviors that should be in a physiotherapist. The study was planned to investigate the effects of creative drama on empathic tendencies, communication skills and critical thinking of physiotherapy students. This study was carried out in Hasan Kalyoncu University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation between October 2017 and December 2018. 75 freshman physiotherapy students (44 women, 31 men) were included in the study.  According to the results obtained from the study; there was no significant difference between empathic tendencies, communication skills and critical thinking skills of individuals in both groups (p> 0.05). When the creative drama group was compared in terms of gender, there was no significant difference between individuals' empathic tendencies, communication skills and critical thinking skills (p> 0.05). Similarly, when the control group was compared in terms of gender, there was no significant difference between individuals' empathic tendencies, communication skills and critical thinking skills (p> 0.05). We think that this study is a preliminary study on empathic tendencies, communication skills, and critical thinking skills of physiotherapy students. Parameters such as gender, different years of education, and welfare levels can affect empathic tendency, communication skills, and critical thinking skills. There are limited studies in the literature investigating the effectiveness of creative drama in the field of health. Therefore, this work can give an idea for subsequent studies. The studies that are conducted with more patients and which are multi-centered should be done.