Development of the Clinical Placement Quality Survey – Educator (CPQS-E) Tool to Evaluate the Quality of Physiotherapy Clinical Placements

Abstract

Background: Increasing demand for entry-level clinical education placements has resulted in changes to traditional models. In this evolving landscape, the ability to effectively assess clinical placement quality is critical. However, existing tools are not specific to physiotherapy and/or have focused on student’s perspectives. Purpose: To design a tool that can be utilised by clinical education providers to measure the quality of physiotherapy clinical placements. Methods: A survey was developed based on published recommendations for quality indicators in clinical education. Content and face validity were established using an expert panel of clinical educators (n=18). Test-retest reliability was tested via physiotherapy clinical educators (n=62) completing the survey twice over a two-week period. Reliability of the survey was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), test-retest percentage agreement, and Cronbach’s alpha. Results: The ICC of 0.87 indicated minimal measurement error. The majority (98%, n=62) of test items met criteria for close agreement. The correlation coefficient of reliability ranged from 0.73 to 0.87 across four defined constructs. Conclusion: Initial assessment of the Clinical Placement Quality Survey - Educator (CPQS-E) tool indicates that its properties provide a valid and reliable measure of entry-level physiotherapy placement quality from the perspective of the clinical educator.