Building Physical Therapist Education Networks

Abstract

Background and Purpose. The sustainability of physical therapist education depends on the ability of programs to provide comprehensive and quality learning experiences across the spectrum of academic and clinical settings. Mounting constraints related to costs, clinical instructor resources, and availability of placements have challenged this ability, compounded by schools increasing clinical education time and numbers of students. A collaborative process for aligning academic programs and clinical practice sites is necessary to create a cohesive clinical education structure that supports physical therapist education. Position and Rationale. Physical therapist education networks (PTENs) are a framework to strengthen academic physical therapy. A PTEN would be composed of an individual academic program and a small number of sites—clinical and community organizations representing the full scope of practice. The academic program would recruit sites based on geographic proximity, and a common educational mission and philosophy. Some sites would be shared among a few networks. The networks' physical therapist education programs and clinics would establish joint appointments, and involve clinical faculty in curriculum planning and decisions. Comprehensive affiliation agreements would address terms of the partnerships, and joint solutions would be developed to address clinical education costs. Discussion. PTENs would require serious cooperation on the part of schools and clinics to develop mutually beneficial systems for all parties. PTEN members would have the opportunity to address the financial issues in clinical education and would need to be prepared to adopt new models for sharing responsibility for supporting this essential component of professional education. Conclusion. With collaboration and a focus on the greater good, physical therapist education programs and their clinical partners can, through PTENs, influence the future of professional education by generating common solutions to overcome clinical education barriers and finding effective mechanisms to support the education of the profession's future workforce.