Introduction:

Providing quality benefits and value to professional association student members is important for their long-term retention and can cultivate future association leadership. The purpose of this study was to determine the Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology and Wound Management (ACEWM) student members’ attitudes, perceptions, and expectations of the ACEWM Student Special Interest Group (SSIG).

Methods:

The research design was a cross-sectional survey administered online. The survey questionnaire was comprised of five demographic items and 10 Likert scale items and was sent to all student members of the ACEWM.

Results:

The response rate was 31.3% (n=56). Data indicated that: students felt that SSIGs are valuable (71.2%), it is important to interact with other students with a similar career interest (93.3%), SSIGs should promote a culture of clinical excellence (96.6%), and it is important to network with expert clinicians with a similar career interest as theirs (98.3%). Most participants supported the idea of the SSIG offering programs on electrophysiology (71.2%), wound management (89.8%), biophysical agents (69.5%), and diagnostic ultrasound (69.5%) to supplement their DPT curriculum.

Conclusion:

Student members of the ACEWM indicated that networking with other students and clinicians is valuable and that the SSIG should offer continuing education on each ACEWM specialty. The results may be used to guide the SSIG’s future strategic planning on enhancing the SSIG’s value and delivering meaningful benefits to student members. These results may also guide other APTA component SSIGs as well as other external professional organizations on how to enhance their student members’ experience.

Keywords: student members, special interest group, survey