The Optimal Length of Clinical Internship Experiences for Entry-Level Physical Therapist Students as Perceived by Center Coordinators of Clinical Education: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Clinical education represents a significant segment of the physical therapist education program curriculum and allows students to apply and integrate theory and didactic knowledge to the real world of practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs) with regard to the optimal length of full-time clinical education experience for PT students who have completed their first and final full-time clinical education experiences. Case Description. A pilot study was conducted using an open-format questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to CCCEs at clinical sites across the United States that currently have agreements with American International College (N = 273). Results. A response rate of 57% was obtained. For students in their first full-time clinical education experience, an average of 7.3 ± 2.26 weeks was suggested, with a range of 3-16 weeks. For a student's final full-time clinical education experience, the average was 9.1 ± 2.09 weeks with a range of 5.5-16 weeks. Discussion. The results of this survey support the current trends for those professional programs that require PT students to complete an 8-week clinical experience as part of their first experience. The results also demonstrated a bimodal split in the distribution between a 5-8-week full-time clinical experience and a 9-12-week clinical experience for a student's final clinical experience as expressed by the CCCEs. This study may assist the director of clinical education (DCE) and/or the academic coordinator of clinical education (ACCE) to develop a consensus on the optimal time for the development of skills in the clinical environment. Key Words: Physical therapy, Clinical internship experience, Clinical education. INTRODUCTION Moving professional (entry-level) physical therapist (PT) students into a clinical education experience is an important aspect of a physical therapist education program curriculum and requires careful and deliberate planning on the part of both the educational institution and the clinician. Clinical placements that consider each student's unique needs are optimal. The physical therapist clinical education experience is a relationship fostered between the academic institution and the clinical facility and should ensure an environment that is engaging and provides a critical learning environment.1 Paschal indicated that clinical education in real practice settings, with real patients and with real physical therapists as clinical teachers.2(p257) Clinical education represents a significant segment of the PT curriculum and allows students to apply and integrate theory and didactic knowledge to the real world of practice while under the supervision of clinical instructors. According to Mostrom and Shepard,' physical therapist professional preparation occurs in 2 environments, the classroom and the clinical setting, each of which contribute to the students' learning experience. Integration of the didactic portion of the PT curriculum occurs through the implementation of carefully thought out clinical experiences providing an opportunity for problem solving which occurs as students participate in clinical settings.3 The Division of Physical Therapy at American International College (AIC) in Springfield, Massachusetts, requires all PT students to successfully complete three 8-week full-time clinical education experiences for a total of 24 weeks in order to fulfill the requirement for a master's degree in physical therapy.4 According to the American Physical Therapy Association 2002 Fact Sheet for Physical Therapist Education Programs,5 the average length for a student's final fulltime clinical education experience is 14.5 weeks at the master's level, with a total length of the full-time clinical education experience averaging 27.9 weeks.5 While visiting clinical sites, conversations with the center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs) often lead to questions inquiring if AIC PT students could continue beyond the required 8 full-time clinical experience weeks. …