Qualitative Study on Student Debt: Implications for Physical Therapists’ Professional and Personal Lives

Background The increasing cost of higher education has led to significant levels of student debt among new graduate physical therapists (PTs). This financial burden impacts graduates and likely has broader implications for the physical therapy profession. The profound consequences of student debt are still not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent significant student debt affects early PT’s personal and professional lives. Methods An exploratory, qualitative study design, grounded in a constructivist paradigm and informed by phenomenological principles, was used to explore the experiences of PTs with high student debt. Participants included PTs that graduated between 2018 and 2022 with a self-reported minimum student debt of $100,000 from their education. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the effects of student debt on participants personal and professional lives. Using an inductive, interpretive approach, the data was analyzed by two investigators to determine consensus on themes. Results Ten participants completed the study, revealing 7 main themes: the role of COVID, cost containment strategies, loan repayment plans, the effect of loans (professional), the effect of loans (personal), mental health, and financial literacy. Conclusions This study highlights both known and unknown consequences of high student debt in young PTs. There are more professional effects of high student debt than what is currently known. Early PTs are making career decisions based primarily on loan repayment plans. This may be to the detriment of their overall professional goals. All of the participants mentioned ways that their student debt has affected them personally, including increased mental health concerns. Many of the participants also discussed how COVID masked the reality of their student loan situation. It is recommended that physical therapist education programs improve financial literacy of their students and provide transparency regarding costs, including potential unanticipated costs.