Determining Availability of Internship Opportunities for Professional Clinical Experience During Undergraduate Physical Therapy

Background: Undergraduate clinical experience is vital for physical therapy students to develop professionalism and practical skills early in their education. However, securing internships can be challenging, particularly in private institutions.Objective: To determine the availability of internship opportunities for gaining professional clinical experience among undergraduate physical therapy students in private institutes of Lahore, Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 200 undergraduate physical therapy students aged 18-29 years, selected through non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected using an internship-rating questionnaire distributed as handouts in the university. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21, with quantitative variables presented as means and standard deviations, and categorical variables as frequencies and percentages.Results: Among the 200 participants (75 males, 125 females; mean age 22.88 ± 2.03 years), 80 students (40%) found internships available, while 120 (60%) did not. Reasons for unavailability included the need for references (47%), limited seats (21.5%), and preference for government students (7%).Conclusion: The majority of students did not find internships easily due to systemic barriers such as the need for references and limited seats, highlighting the need for improved internship opportunities in private institutions.