Coordinator Of Clinical Education Research Articles

Self-Reported Characteristics of Physical Therapy Clinical Instructors: A Comparison to the American Physical Therapy Associationʼs Guidelines and Self-Assessments for Clinical Education

Background and Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine, by self-report, the professional development and educational activities engaged in by physical therapists (PTs) who choose to be clinical instructors (CIs) in physical therapist education programs. The researchers sought to describe the characteristics of CIs, correlate the characteristics to selected guidelines for CIs from the American Physical Therapy Association's Guidelines and Self-Assessments for Clinical Education,11 and determine relationships between characteristics of CIs and self-report of effectiveness and competence as supervisors of physical therapist students. Subjects. The investigators, participating academic members of the New York New Jersey Physical Therapy Clinical Education Consortium, randomly selected 349 clinical sites affiliated with the physical therapist education programs. From this sample of convenience, all CIs identified on the Clinical Site Information Forms of selected clinical affiliates were selected as subjects. Methods. Investigator-designed questionnaires tested for content and face validity were mailed to 1,812 CIs listed on the Clinical Site Information Forms by the Center Coordinators of Clinical Education at the 349 selected sites. Results. Of the total surveys mailed, 621 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 33%. CIs were primarily female, had obtained professional (entry-level) Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degrees, had been practicing physical therapy for 2 or more years, had participated in continuing education courses, and had supervised between 1 and 4 students per year. CIs reported that they were effectively prepared to be CIs and felt competent in this role. Positive relationships existed between self-report of effectiveness and the respondent's age, years in physical therapist practice, years as a CI, total number of students supervised, credentialing as a CI, and use of the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice.28 Discussion and Conclusion. The outcomes of this study could provide information to academic and clinical communities for program development and training activities to enhance PT clinical education.

Thrust Joint Manipulation Clinical Education Opportunities for Professional Degree Physical Therapy Students

Descriptive survey. Describe the availability of thrust joint manipulation clinical educational opportunities for physical therapy professional degree students. In the United States, most of the faculty teaching manual therapy content in physical therapy programs believe that the best way for their students to develop thrust joint manipulation skills is to receive additional training during clinical education experiences. There are no data that describe the availability of such training opportunities. Seventy-three physical therapy programs that include thrust joint manipulation in their curricula were divided into 5 geographic regions. Of these programs, 27% (total, n = 20) were randomly selected per region to participate. Program academic coordinators of clinical education (ACCEs) identified their clinical instructors working in outpatient orthopaedic settings. ACCEs and clinical instructors were surveyed regarding thrust joint manipulation clinical education opportunities for students. Survey return rates were 100% for ACCEs and 67.4% for clinical instructors. Of ACCEs, 70% were unsure which sites employed clinical instructors trained in thrust joint manipulation and 85% did not consider whether thrust joint manipulation training was provided when scheduling the experience. The ACCEs who did consider availability cited lack of qualified instructors as the number-one barrier to finding sites that offered thrust joint manipulation. Of clinical instructors, 30% provide thrust joint manipulation training including lecture/theory, technique demonstration, practice on "normals," and direct patient care supervision. Clinical instructors who did not teach thrust joint manipulation cited reasons that included the belief that it is not an entry-level skill (57%), lack of qualified staff (53%), liability concerns (46%), and students not being academically prepared (41%). Results suggest that the availability and scope of thrust joint manipulation clinical educational opportunities are limited, vary considerably, and are not considered when selecting clinical education sites for students. Potential obstacles to offering thrust joint manipulation training were identified, which suggested the need for resources, including clinical education curricula and philosophical guidelines for clinical instructors.

Enhancing Critical Reflection of Students During a Clinical Internship Using the Self-S.O.A.P. Note

Background and Purpose: Critical reflection is a skill all physical therapists need to develop to be successful in professional practice. Scholars have defined the varied processes, purposes and outcomes of reflection. Journaling is one technique for encouraging the process of critical reflection. While journaling can take many forms, a structured journal format with clear instructions and ongoing feedback has been found to be most successful in maintaining student engagement. Method Description and Evaluation: A journal structured in a S.O.A.P. note format was implemented as a weekly assignment during a clinical education experience. Students were required to submit the weekly self-S.O.A.P. note to the academic coordinator of clinical education (ACCE). The ACCE provided students with occasional feedback on their notes to encourage further reflection. Perceptions of the benefits and pitfalls of the activity were gathered through means of a focus group interview. Outcomes: The four students in the focus group identified several benefits which can be grouped into four categories relating to the clarity of format, effect of feedback, support of summative evaluations and self-recognition of progress. Discussion and Conclusions: Self-S.O.A.P. notes provide a familiar structure to assist students in the process of critical reflection. Further research is needed to determine the level of reflection that is occurring, the effect of feedback on the students’ critical reflection, and if a relationship exists between high levels of critical reflection and high summative evaluation ratings.

Use of the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument as a Grading Tool as Reported by Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education

Background and Purpose. Physical therapist education programs have been in transition in recent years toward using a uniform method of assessment of student clinical performance. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA) Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) is used among physical therapist education programs nationally and consistently as a grading instrument. A secondary purpose of the study was to demonstrate how the use of the CPI relates to demographics of the various institutions utilizing the tool. Subjects. The subjects were 179 academic coordinators of clinical education (ACCEs) identified from the list of physical therapist education programs available on the APTA Web site on October 30, 2000. Methods. Investigators created a 24-question survey tool to gather information about the individual physical therapist education program, the ACCE, and the use of the CPI. A pilot questionnaire was mailed to 10% (18/179) of the subjects. A revised final questionnaire was mailed to 179 subjects. Descriptive statistics for demographic data were computed as means and percentages. Cross tabulations were calculated to determine the cooccurrence of multiple responses on items in which more than one choice could apply to the program. Pearson chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to examine correlation between demographic data and the use of the CPI as a grading tool. The McNemar chi-square test was used to verify the reliability of the investigator-generated questionnaire. Results. The response rates for the pilot and final questionnaires were 55% and 75%, respectively, indicating that 89.6% of respondents use the CPI to assess student clinical performance. Use of the CPI was significantly dependent (P=.000) on the region in which the program was located. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the CPl is used nationally as a grading tool, but that grading methods using the CPI varied among programs. Key Words: Clinical education, Clinical performance, Grading tools, Physical therapy education. INTRODUCTION Historically, physical therapist (PT) education program faculty members have attempted to define and determine competence of graduates as they enter the profession of physical therapy.1-4 Clinical experience has been a key component of most PT education programs, with students assigned to clinical environments to apply the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking patterns developed in the academic environment.5 Historically, clinical instructors (CIs) have used a variety of approaches to evaluate PT students' performance in clinical settings. The Mastery and Assessment of Clinical Skills (Ae Blue MACS)6 and specific tools developed hy individual education programs or clinical facilities1,3 are examples of instruments currently or previously used. There has been ongoing debate ahout the effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency of clinical performance evaluation tools.7-9 Many PT education programs have reported using the Blue MACS.9 CIs using this instrument expressed a positive opinion and reported at least moderately consistent adherence to instructions for use.') However, one of the limitations of the Blue MACS is that clinicians perceive it to require very specific quantitative key behaviors or skills to be met if the student is to be successful in the clinical experienced.9 Discussion about the variety of evaluation tools in use eventually resulted in the development of the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) in 1997 by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)J Educators developed this tool to establish uniform processes and instruments for assessing student clinical performance across education programs, and the CPI was designed to measure both the cognitive and noncognitivc factors in PT and PTA students' clinical education performance.5 The CPI consists of 24 performance criteria, with a 100-mm visual analog scale (WS) used for rating each criterion. …

Forensics: A Community Clinical Education Pilot Project

Background and Purpose. Physical therapists (PTs) have been providing services to inmates both inside and outside penal institutions for over 2 decades. The key issue in rehabilitation services in penal institutions is ensuring the practitioner has a sound understanding of the unique culture and environment of the patient population. This population is growing, and there is an increasing need for physical therapy services, yet PTs are either unaware of the opportunities or are concerned about the inherent risks of working with this population. In an effort to meet the growing societal need for physical rehabilitation of inmates while broadening the clinical experiences for PT students and enhancing their professional opportunities, a descriptive pilot project was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of student placements in Canadian federal cor rectional facilities. Case Description. The forensics pilot project was undertaken as one of ten community pilot projects developed by the Ontario Council for University Programs in the Rehabilitation Sciences to enhance clinical education for students in the rehabilitation disciplines. Four PT student volunteers were selected to undertake a 2:1 supervision model, 5-week clinical placement at one of two penitentiaries. The students underwent special training, had an extensive preplacement orientation, and attended weekly debriefing sessions. Outcome measures included preplacement and postplacement reflection questions, student journals, exit questionnaires (given to both students and clinical instructors [CIs]), weekly debriefing sessions, Queen's University midterm and final student clinical performance instruments and site evaluation forms, and a midterm telephone interview. Outcomes. It was demonstrated that implementation of student forensic clinical placements is feasible and that the benefits of the learning experience far outweighed the risks and limitations of the placement. Students performed well clinically while demonstrating significant changes in professional attributes and generic behaviors. Discussion. The academic coordinator of clinical education (ACCE), both CIs, and all four students concur red that the placement of PT students in penal institutions is a “value added” experience for the students demanding more flexible, innovative treatment approaches and more sensitive interpersonal communication and interaction skills. Student prejudices and biases brought into the placement were replaced by more open-minded, thoughtful, and impartial qualities. Recommendations include establishing forensic placements for intermediate and senior students, expanding the preplacement orientation, and developing advanced forensic placement handbooks.

An Examination of Observation Hours Used as an Admission Criterion for Physical Therapist Programs in Texas

Background and Purpose, The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the parameters of the observation hours requirement, number of hours, and types of experiences in the admission process of physical therapist programs within the state of Texas; (2) to examine how facilities determine objectives or goals for these hours; and (3) to determine the impact that fulfillment of the observation hours requirement has on the decision-making process of both admission committee members and applicants. Subjects. Survey instruments were completed by 289 first-year students from 9 Texas physical therapist programs, 22 prospective students, 17 center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs), and 16 admission committee members from the 9 programs. Methods. A survey design was used to gather information from 4 groups. The surveys consisted of close-ended questions for the CCCEs and both open- and close-ended questions for the other 3 groups. Areas addressed related to respondent demographics (all groups), volunteer experiences (both enrolled and prospective student volunteers), and opinions/perceptions regarding various aspects of the volunteer experience (all groups). Results. Of 9 physical therapist programs, the range of volunteer hours required ranged from O (3 programs) to 150 (3 programs). Fifty-five percent of first-year students and 47% of prospective students reported having goals established for their volunteer time. Twenty-five percent of CCCEs reported that goals or objectives were set for these experiences. Volunteer experience was found to play a significant role (P Key Words: Admission criteria, Observation hours, Physical therapist education. INTRODUCTION Many professional physical therapist programs require that applicants spend time in a physical therapy setting prior to admission to the program. Discussions with admission committee members and colleagues have identified several possible purposes of such a requirement. These purposes are to enable applicants to gain knowledge of the scope and practice of the profession, to analyze their own career goals, and, perhaps to obtain letters of recommendation from the supervising physical therapist. Providing aspiring students with this exposure to physical therapy may be placing a burden on clinics and hospitals that are already attempting to provide clinical education experiences to enrolled physical therapist students. There is no published literature that addresses whether or not the assumed purposes of this requirement are actually fulfilled, nor has it been established what weight, if any, this criterion carries in the decision-making process of either the applicant or the admission committees of the programs. Physical therapist education is not alone in requiring some acquaintance with the discipline prior to admission to a professional preparation program. Scott and colleagues' conducted a survey of several health care professions, including diagnostic medical imaging, health information management, nurse midwifery, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant education. …

Comparison of the Student/Site Computer Matching Program and Manual Matching of Physical Therapy Students in Clinical Education

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of the newly developed Student/Site Computer-Assisted Matching Program (SSCAMP) from the American Physical Therapy Association with the results of a manual student matching program used in a physical therapist program. The author hypothesized that the computer-assisted matching program would reduce the time for matching of students and that the matches would not be significantly different than those done with the manual matching method. One class of first-year professional (entry-level) physical therapist students were matched using both the new SSCAMP and the previously utilized manual matching method. Comparisons were made between the manual matching method and the computer-assisted matching process for time expenditures used in the matching process and for differences in successful student matches. Time expenditures (in hours), frequency distributions, and percentages of successful matches are reported, as well as a chi-square statistic to compare the differences in successful matches between the two methods. The author's results suggest that there was no significant difference between the computermatched site assignments and the manual method site assignments. Less time was used for the computer-assisted matching method. The author also observed anecdotally that students adopted a more self-directed style for decision making about their clinical placements. Because there was a time reduction for student placements and because the matches were similar under both methods, the computer-assisted matching will be the method of choice for student/clinical site matching at this physical therapist program. INTRODUCTION The process of student clinical assignment in a physical therapy program has traditionally involved many task hours for the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) or the Director of Clinical Education (DCE) for hand-matching of students to available clinical sites. With the increase in student enrollment, limited time of the ACCE/DCE because of other faculty responsibilities, and time spent soliciting site placements from many facilities, the time to complete this large task has increased. With an increase in the number of physical therapy programs, there have been increased demands to streamline the placement process so that clinical sites have information on their student placements more quickly. Time is, therefore, a key issue in both the placement process and the communication of this information to the clinical sites. In addition to the time issues, the process of hand-matching students to clinical sites is subjective and may be guided by preconceived ideas about a student by the ACCE/DCE. Because the matching process has primarily been done by the ACCE/DCE, reviewing students' preferences and then matching those preferences to site availability, there are concerns of bias toward certain students and fairness about placements. The manual matching process puts the ultimate control for site placement with the ACCE/DCE and tends to foster a more passive participation by the student in this placement process. With a shift of degree levels to master's degree and professional (entry-level) doctorate, the age of students in today's physical therapy programs has increased, with an increased focus on adult learning. A physical therapy program may choose to foster more self-directed learning and increased responsibility for aspects of professional development. Shifting from a manual matching process to another method of placement that puts an increased responsibility on students for their clinical site selections would foster these concepts. A greater number of education programs, as well as students, now have knowledge about and access to computer technology. Professional education programs may have computer laboratory space available for student use, and many students now utilize various computer software programs with ease. …

Master Clinician to Novice Academician

Lee Zaslow is an assistant professor and academic coordinator of clinical education for the physical therapist assistant program at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University, Philadelphia. She has a BS in PT from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa, and an MEd from Beaver College, Glenside, Pa. Her previous clinical experience has been in acute care and home care. She has also been a manager in a home health agency. She is currently in the dissertation phase of doctoral studies in higher education administration. She has been a member of APTA for more than 20 years and a member of APTA's Section for Education for 7 years.

The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: Career Issues

The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: Career Issues

Combined Clinical Visits and Regional Continuing Education for Clinical Instructors

The academic coordinators of clinical education of the Medical College of Georgia regionalized clinical visits and presented continuing education programs for clinical instructor development in response to increasing numbers of clinics and students and decreasing travel budgets. We visit all affiliating clinical facilities in one geographic area during the same trip and present a clinical instructor development program on one or more evenings. One of the local center coordinators of clinical education provides the needed meeting and audiovisual support and responds to local questions. We invite practitioners within 2 hours driving time of the meeting. The system has been used since 1989, and 18 continuing education programs have been presented to date. All have been very well-received. The system has allowed us to visit more facilities with the same budgetary allocation and to reach about 436 therapists in clinical education-oriented programs.

The Role of the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: A Dilemma in Academe. Strickler EM. J Allied Health 19:95-101, 1990.

The Role of the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: A Dilemma in Academe. Strickler EM. J Allied Health 19:95-101, 1990.

The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: Current Status, Questions, and Challenges for the 1990s and Beyond

The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education: Current Status, Questions, and Challenges for the 1990s and Beyond

Use of the Rasch Model in the Development of a Clinical Competence Scale

This article illustrates the use of the Rasch model in the development and implementation of a student clinical competence scale. The short instrument described was used by the academic coordinator of clinical education to assess the clinical competence of 47 physical therapy students. The Rasch analysis converted scores from an ordinal scale to student scores on an interval scale. It also provided us with a ranking of item difficulties on an interval scale. The items, ranked from easiest to hardest, were as follows: exhibits professionalism, exhibits effective communication skills, performs effective treatment skills, performs safe treatment skills, can problem-solve, and works from an adequate knowledge base. More research is needed on this scale to ascertain whether the item difficulties remain constant across time, academic settings, and raters. If this can be demonstrated, then students can be compared from one year to the next and across educational programs.

Survey of Center Clinical Coordinators: Format of Clinical Education and Preferred Methods of Communication

The purpose of this study was to identify current clinical education formats and preferred methods of communication between physical therapy education programs and clinical education centers (CECs). Three-hundred seventy-seven questionnaires were analyzed in this study. The majority of center coordinators of clinical education (CCCEs) (78%) would prefer to receive requests for student placements from all academic programs at one time and confirmation of student placements two to three months in advance (63%). Most CCCEs (87%) would be comfortable having academic coordinators of clinical education (ACCEs) share information about the availability of an unfilled student spot at their facility. Fifty-six percent of CCCEs would consider allocating a spot to a program with which they were not currently contracted. On-site visits by ACCEs were considered to be essential when requested (66%), with problem students only (49%), or with changes in the ACCE or CCCE (42%). The results of this study will be useful in planning for change in clinical education (ACCEs) and in guiding cooperative efforts between academic institutions and CECs.

Group Development of a Clinical Education Instrument

Academic coordinators of clinical education and center coordinators of clinical education formed a special interest group in New York State. The group cooperatively developed an evaluation instrument for use in the clinical training of students. The background, theory, and philosophy of the group is reflected in the discussion and in the content of the evaluation instrument. Major components of the instrument are presented.

Perceived Importance and Frequency of Clinical Teaching Behaviors: Surveys of Students, Clinical Instructors and Center Coordinators of Clinical Education

Mr. Emery is an Assistant Professor and the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401. At the time of this study, he was a Clinical Assistant Professor at the university and an Advanced Clinician at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont in Burlington. Dr. Wilkinson is an independent consultant in physical therapy, White River Junction, VT 05001. At the time of this study, she was an Associate Professor and the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.

Role and functions of the academic coordinator of clinical education in physical therapy education: a survey.

The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education occupies a unique position in physical therapy education, often serving as the link between the didactic and the clinical domains of the program. A wealth of anecdotal information suggests the need for a more systematic study of the role and functions of the ACCE. A survey based on a self-administered questionnaire was sent to the ACCEs at 101 physical therapy education programs in the United States. A usable response rate of 79% was sufficient for the analysis. This study identifies some of the functions of the ACCEs, profiles their demographic characteristics, and describes the educational programs in which they work. The time ACCEs devote to participation in teaching, administrative, scholarly, and service activities is reported. In general, the ACCEs reported that the didactic and clinical curricula of their programs were well integrated.

Evaluation of clinical education centers in physical therapy.

The purpose of this research was to test a set of 20 physical therapy clinical education standards and three related evaluation forms that were published in 1976 by Moore and Perry. Mail questionnaires and telephone interviews with 134 Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education, 708 Center Coordinators of Clinical Education, 15 Clinical Instructors, and 52 students were used to collect data reported here. The resulting standards and evaluation forms were found to be practical, reliable, and valid for use by personnel of physical therapy and physical therapist assistant educational programs responsible for selecting clinical education centers for part-time and full-time students. We recommend that the standards and evaluation forms be used by personnel of physical therapy educational programs, clinical education centers, and selected committees of the American Physical Therapy Association because the standards and forms incorporate aspects of clinical education currently believed important to providing high-quality learning experiences in physical therapy practice.

Counseling function of academic coordinators of clinical education from select entry-level physical therapy educational programs.

This study describes the counseling function of academic coordinators of clinical education in the traditional physical therapy programs in the United States (N = 45) that grant a degree following satisfactory completion of 120 semester credit hours or an equivalent. An investigator-designed survey was administered to all of the available clinical coordinators (94%) from the type of program studied. Demographic data related to counseling functions are reported. Other results of specific research objectives showed most (97.9%) of the respondents indicated counseling is a part of their real and ideal roles and little more than half (53.2%) of these believed they were prepared for their counseling role. Real and ideal counseling functions of academic clinical coordinators are described. The means by which the counseling role of the respondents can be facilitated are also reported.