Does the Length of Student Physical Therapists' Clinical Educational Experiences Matter?

Abstract

Introduction/Review of Literature. Clinical educational experiences (CEEs) comprise approximately 30% of the total credit hours in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) curriculum and are essential to the clinical learning and performance of DPT students to achieve entry-level competence. There are no established standards in DPT education for the length and timing of CEEs to optimize students' clinical learning and performance. The purpose of our investigation was to assess the development of DPT students' clinical learning and performance at 3 DPT programs during 6-, 8-, 9-, and 16-week CEEs. Methods. An analysis of variance was conducted to assess the changes in DPT students' clinical learning and performance based on the following: (1) the length of CEEs, (2) the effect of the length and timing of CEEs, and (3) the length of the final CEEs. Subjects. Midterm and final evaluation Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument data were analyzed from 707 DPT students' CEEs. Results. The average change in DPT students' clinical learning and performance during CEEs was as follows: 6 weeks = 3.13 (SD = 2.3), 8 weeks = 3.20 (SD = 2.6), 9-weeks = 3.30 (SD = 2.5), and 16 weeks = 2.56. Significant difference in DPT students' clinical learning occurred during the 8-week (P = .03; P = .04) and 9-week (P = .04; P = .01) CEEs compared with the early 6-week CEEs and 16-week CEEs, respectively. Discussion and Conclusion. The greatest change in DPT students' clinical learning and performance occurred during 8- and 9-week CEEs and between the first and third full-time CEEs. Given the increasing costs of DPT education and student debt, the length of CEEs required to meet CAPTE standards and program goals should be further investigated.