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A longitudinal study of 15 entry-level postbaccalaureate degree graduates was conducted to determine whether their perceptions of the professional role of the physical therapist and of self in that role changed after employment had begun and whether a relationship exists between these perceptions and job satisfaction. Data were collected by mail using a semantic differential test for measuring role perceptions and a questionnaire that included items related to job satisfaction and to demographic data. The return rate was 93%. At the time of data collection, the graduates had been employed for 12 to 18 months. The data on role perceptions were compared with data previously reported by Fincher Corb et al that had been collected on these same subjects when they entered the physical therapy education program and when they completed the program. Kendall's coefficient of concordance revealed significant differences (p less than .05) in three concepts relating to the professional role of the physical therapist and in one concept relating to self in that role. In each instance, the role perception score was lower after 12 to 18 months of employment. Job satisfaction scores were relatively high among the subjects. Spearman correlation coefficients calculated between job satisfaction and role perception scores revealed a positive and direct relationship between three role concepts and job satisfaction. Results of this study provide information about the professional socialization process in physical therapy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pelvic-floor musculature exercises in the treatment of women with anatomical urinary stress incontinence. Fourteen female subjects, ranging in age from 33 to 67 years, participated in a four-week pelvic-floor musculature exercise program. Subjects underwent a pretraining urodynamic evaluation and were reexamined after four weeks of exercise training. Paired t tests of subjects' pretraining and posttraining values of bladder capacity, functional urethral length, and static urethral pressure profile showed no significant differences. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that the covariates of weight, motivation, and age did not significantly influence subjects' bladder capacity, functional urethral length, or static urethral pressure profile. Nine of the 14 subjects had a negative result on the posttraining urinary stress test (R = 0, p less than .01). The urinary stress test result was the only variable to change significantly from pretraining to posttraining measurements. All subjects reported posttraining improvement in control of urinary incontinence. A short-term exercise program for pelvic-floor musculature produced positive changes in subjects with anatomical urinary stress incontinence.