Physiotherapy students' and clinical teachers' perceptions of clinical learning opportunities: a case study

Physiotherapy students' rating on lecturers' and supervisors' clinical education attributes

Background

Clinical education is considered a vital aspect of education of health science students. Attributes of clinical educators play a crucial role in determining the outcome of clinical teaching and learning. A good clinical educator ensures that students get maximum benefits of the clinical learning experience.

Objective

To determine the ratings of physiotherapy students on clinical education attributes of lecturers and clinical supervisors.

Methods

The study was conducted with 81 clinical physiotherapy students from two universities in Ghana. Two copies of McGill clinical teachers' evaluation (CTE) tool were used to obtain students' ratings on their clinical supervisors' and lecturers' clinical education attributes. Independent t-test was used to compare the means of students' level of study and ratings regarding the clinical education attributes of clinical supervisors and lecturers.

Results

Students had a high rating on their clinical education attributes of supervisors and lecturers with a mean score of (121 . 22 ± 18 . 12 ) and (122 . 11 ± 16 . 71 ), respectively. Rating on clinical education attributes of supervisors (p = 0 . 111 ) and lecturers (p = 0 . 124 ) did not differ significantly between the different levels of study.

Conclusion

Clinical physiotherapy students rated the clinical education attributes of their lecturers and supervisors high.

Exploration of the contribution of physiotherapy students to the delivery of health services: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

To understand the perspectives of physiotherapists on the contribution of students to the delivery of health services during clinical placements.

METHODS

Focus groups with a semi-structured interview guide were completed separately with new graduate physiotherapists reflecting on their student experience and experienced physiotherapists from five Queensland public health-sector hospitals. Interviews were transcribed verbatim in preparation for thematic analysis. Interview manuscripts were read independently and initially coding completed. Codes were compared and further refinement of themes occurred. Themes were reviewed by two investigators.

RESULTS

There were 38 new graduate participants across nine focus groups and 35 experienced physiotherapists across six focus groups who participated in this study. Students participate in a range of activities during clinical placements some of which contribute to delivery of health services and others which support student learning. Three major themes were identified: 1) tangible student contribution; 2) non-tangible student contribution; and 3) factors that influence the student contribution.

CONCLUSIONS

Overwhelmingly, both new graduate and experienced physiotherapists felt that students do contribute to the delivery of health services however careful consideration of a variety of factors is necessary to maximize the student contribution.

Perceptions of learning and teaching human movement in physiotherapy: A systematic review and metasynthesis of qualitative studies

PURPOSE

Human movement is essential for health and well-being. Understanding human movement is pivotal in physiotherapy, but also an important element of physiotherapy education. This review identified, critically appraised, and synthesized the available evidence on learning and teaching human movement in physiotherapy as perceived by students, therapists, and instructors.

METHODS

The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, MEDIC and FINNA, were searched. The search was conducted in March/April 2020 and updated in March 2022. The systematic review followed the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of qualitative evidence and was conducted in accordance with an a priori protocol.

RESULTS

The overall quality of the 17 included studies was scored low on ConQual but dependability and credibility were rated as moderate. Four synthesized findings aggregated from 17 categories and 147 findings described the perceived significance of 1) being present in movement, 2) movement quality, 3) movement transfer, and 4) contextual factors for the learning or teaching of human movement in physiotherapy.

CONCLUSION

The synthesized findings indicate that the perceived significance of contextual factors, movement quality and transfer, and being present in movement should be considered in all learning and teaching of movement in physiotherapy. However, the evidence of the review findings was evaluated as low-level, which should be considered when applying these results to physiotherapy education or practice.

Teaching-learning in clinical education based on epistemological orientations: A multi-method study

INTRODUCTION

Teaching-learning is the heart of medical education in the clinical setting. The objective of this research was to develop a conceptual model of effective clinical teaching in undergraduate medical education and conceptualize its operational framework based on the best fit approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This research consisted of three sub-studies conducted using a multi-method approach. The first sub-study was conducted using a qualitative meta-synthesis approach. The second sub-study used Clarke's situational analysis approach as a postmodern version of grounded theory. Finally, the third sub-study was designed in two stages. First, it was conducted using the expert panel, in the second step, framework of synthesis based on best fit, and the framework of Ottenhoff- de Jonge et al., which formed the basis of this study.

RESULTS

In the first sub-study, qualitative evidence on the factors of effective teaching-learning in clinical education was synthesized into five dimensions. Based on the second sub-study, the clinical teaching-learning situation in undergraduate medical education in Iran was represented in three maps, including situational, social worlds/arenas, and positional. Finally, in the third sub-study, based on model modification and development in the expert panel, the effective teaching-learning dimensions were developed into behavioral, social, pedagogical, technology, contextual, educational leadership, and financial dimensions. In the second step, based on the framework of Ottenhoff- de Jonge et al., a three-dimensional matrix was developed concerning epistemological orientations about teaching and learning.

DISCUSSION

Moving from a single teaching-centered and learning-centered orientation to a teaching-learning-centered orientation is required for effective teaching-learning in clinical medical education.

A tool to evaluate physiotherapy clinical education in South Africa

Background

Physiotherapy clinical education is complex. The dynamic learning milieu is fluid and multidimensional, which contributes to the complexity of the clinical learning experience. Consequently, there are numerous factors which impact the clinical learning experience which cannot be measured objectively - a gap which led to the development of our study.

Objectives

To develop, validate, and test the reliability of an assessment tool that evaluates the effectiveness and quality of physiotherapy clinical education programmes.

Method

A mixed methods approach in three phases included physiotherapy academics, clinical educators, and clinicians throughout South Africa. Phase One was a qualitative study: focus group discussions determined items and domains of the tool. Phase Two established the content and construct validity of the tool, a scoring system and a name for the tool, using the Delphi method. In Phase Three, factor analysis reduced the number of items, and the feasibility and utility of the tool was determined cross-sectionally.

Results

The Vaneshveri Naidoo Clinical Programme Evaluation Tool (VN-CPET) of 58 items and six domains was developed and found to be valid, reliable (α = 0.75) and useful. The six domains of VN-CPET include governance; academic processes; learning exposure; clinical orientation; clinical supervision and quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation.

Conclusion

The Vaneshveri Naidoo Clinical Programme Evaluation Tool is a valid, reliable and standardised tool, that evaluates the quality and effectiveness of physiotherapy clinical education programmes.

Clinical implications

This tool can objectively evaluate the quality and effectiveness of physiotherapy clinical education programmes in South Africa, and other health science education programmes, both locally and globally, with minor modification.

Students' perceptions, engagement and satisfaction with the use of an e-rubric for the assessment of manual skills in physiotherapy

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, formative assessment has gained importance in health care education to facilitate and enhance learning throughout the training period. Within the frame of active methodologies, rubrics have become an essential instrument for formative assessment. Most rubric-based assessment procedures focus on measuring the effects of rubrics on teachers. However, few studies focus their attention on the perception that students have of the evaluation process through rubrics.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study was carried out with 134 students enrolled in the pre-graduate Physiotherapy education. Assessment of manual skills during a practical examination was performed using an e-rubric tool. Peer-assessment, self-assessment and teacher´s assessment were registered. After completion of the examination process, students' perceptions, satisfaction and engagement were collected.

RESULTS

Quantitative results related to students' opinion about e-rubric based assessment, students' engagement, perceived benefits and drawbacks of the e-rubric as well as the overall assessment of the learning experience were obtained. 86.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that "the rubric allowed one to know what it is expected from examination" and 83.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that "the rubric allowed one to verify the level of competence acquired". A high rate of agreement (87.3%) was also reached among students concerning feedback.

CONCLUSIONS

E-rubrics seemed to have the potential to promote learning by making criteria and expectations explicit, facilitating feedback, self-assessment and peer-assessment. The importance of students in their own learning process required their participation in the assessment task, a fact that was globally appreciated by the students. Learning experience was considered interesting, motivating, it promoted participation, cooperative work and peer-assessment. The use of e-rubrics increased engagement levels when attention was focused on their guidance and reflection role.

The evolution of medical students' preparedness for clinical practice during the transition of graduation: a longitudinal study from the undergraduate to postgraduate periods

BACKGROUND

Graduating from medical school and beginning independent practice appears to be a major transition for medical students across the world. It is often reported that medical graduates are underprepared for independent practice. Most previous studies on undergraduates' preparedness are cross-sectional. This study aimed to characterize the development and trend of medical students' preparedness and its association with other objective and subjective indicators from the undergraduate to postgraduate periods.

METHODS

This was a prospective cohort study. The participants were recruited and followed from two years before graduation to the postgraduate period. The preparedness for independent practice, professional identity, and teamwork experience were biannually measured using previously validated questionnaires. The participants' basic demographic information, clinical learning marks from the last two years, and national board exam scores were also collected.

RESULTS

A total of 85 participants completed 403 measurements in the 5 sequential surveys. The mean age at recruitment was 23.6, and 58 % of participants were male. The overall total preparedness score gradually increased from 157.3 (SD=21.2) at the first measurement to 175.5 (SD=25.6) at the fifth measurement. The serial individual preparedness scores revealed both temporal differences within the same learner and individual differences across learners. Despite the variations, a clear, steady increase in the overall average score was observed. Participants were least prepared in the domain of patient management at first, but the score increased in the subsequent measurements. The participants with better final preparedness had better professional identity (p<0.01), better teamwork experience (p < 0.01), and higher average clinical rotation marks (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The preparedness for practice of medical students from the undergraduate to postgraduate periods is associated with their professional identity, teamwork experience, and objective clinical rotation endpoint. Although preparedness generally increases over time, educators must understand that there are temporal fluctuations and individual differences in learners' preparedness.

Interprofessional, student-led community health clinic: expanding service provision and clinical education capacity

Student-led interprofessional health clinics offer valuable opportunities for student learning and meeting the health care needs of the community. This case study describes the operation of a new interprofessional student-led community health service over its initial 13-month period of operation. This case study also presents an overview of the service provision, student placement opportunities and focuses on the challenges associated with the service and the impact on future planning.

Recommendations of behavioural facilitators for success in a physiotherapy clinical practice module: Successful students' perspectives

Background

Students struggle to bridge the gap between theory and application thereof in clinical settings. Exploring the behaviours of students who have been shown to be successful in the clinical practice module of physiotherapy could provide an insight into what facilitated their success. Sharing this information with other students could assist with decreasing anxiety and improving student success.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to explore behaviours that facilitate student success in a physiotherapy clinical practice module from the perspective of high-achieving students.

Method

Data were collected at the University of the Western Cape's physiotherapy department in South Africa. Ten students with the highest marks in clinical practice from the 2016 and 2017 final-year cohorts were purposively selected and invited to participate in two different Nominal Group Technique (NGT) discussions. In total, 14 students consented to participate in the study. A demographic and socio-economic status questionnaire and an NGT discussion were used to collect data. Participants analysed the NGT discussion data themselves by ranking facilitators in order of priority.

Results

Doing pre-block preparation, self-reflection and having a good rapport with patients as well as personal motivation and coping strategies were identified as the most important behavioural facilitators for physiotherapy students' success in a clinical practice module.

Conclusion

Clinical practice is considered to be the most stressful module for undergraduate physiotherapy students. Considering this, recommendations from previously successful students could contribute towards the success of present and future students and in decreasing the stress associated with clinical practice.

Clinical implications

Recommendations from students on behavioural facilitators that enabled them to be successful in a physiotherapy clinical practice module can assist future students entering clinical practice to be successful in this stressful module. This information is also useful for clinical educators to assist students who struggle, and to recommend potential changes or improvements to the current physiotherapy clinical practice module.

The challenge of planning learning opportunities for clinical medicine: a triangulation study in Iran

BACKGROUND

An essential characteristics of clinical education is the need to learn a large number of practical and communication skills along with theoretical knowledge. It is challenging to design learning opportunities (LOs) for clinical setting. We aimed to determine optimal learning opportunities from the viewpoint of Medical curriculum planners, to determine the gap between the current condition and the optimal condition in medical schools, and to present feasible tactic for clinical learning opportunities.

METHODS

This study comprised of three sub-studies and was conducted using triangulation. The first sub-study was performed using the Modified Delphi method with a view to identifying optimal learning opportunities. Data was collected by online focus group discussion and a questionnaire. The second sub-study was conducted with the aim of comparing the current condition and the optimal condition. Data was collected from nine medical schools across Iran using a checklist, available documents, observation, and interview. The third sub-study was conducted using an expert panel comprising of seven curriculum planners of the M.D.

PROGRAM

The goal of this phase was to provide feasible tactic to improve clinical education in medical schools.

RESULTS

In the first sub-study, the participants determined all items, including student-centered learning, non-threatening learning environment, and record and management system of clinical learning opportunities as implementable learning opportunities with over 70% consensus. However, in the second sub-study, student-centered teaching methods were practiced in 33% of medical schools and the non-threatening learning environment in 67% of the schools, while the record and management system of learning opportunities was not launched in any of the schools. From the viewpoint of the expert panel members, learning opportunities adapted to clinical contents, specification of content-based learning opportunities, and continuous supervision on learners to achieve the expected learning outcomes were among clinical learning opportunities with over 70% consensus.

CONCLUSIONS

Student-centered clinical learning practices, together with virtual learning methods, can lead to clinical enhancement. Opportunities such as interactive and participatory practices should gain further consideration. Also assigning responsibility to learners and monitoring them are strategies for enhancement.

Clinical educators' skills and qualities in allied health: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The skills and qualities of effective clinical educators are linked to improved student learning and ultimately patient care; however, within allied health these have not yet been systematically summarised in the literature.

AIMS

To identify and synthesise the skills and qualities of clinical educators in allied health and their effect on student learning and patient care.

METHOD

A systematic search of the literature was conducted across five electronic databases in November 2017. Study identification, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed in duplicate. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted separately but analysed together using a thematic analysis approach whereby items used in quantitative surveys and themes from qualitative approaches were interpreted together.

RESULTS

Data revealed seven educator skills and qualities: (i) intrinsic and personal attributes of clinical educators; (ii) provision of skillful feedback; (iii) teaching skills; (iv) fostering collaborative learning; (v) understanding expectations; (vi) organisation and planning; and (vii) clinical educators in their professional role. Across all themes was the concept of taking time to perform the clinical educator role. No studies used objective measurements as to how these skills and qualities affect learning or patient care.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Despite much primary evidence of clinical educator skills and qualities, this review presents the first synthesis of this evidence in allied health. There is a need to examine clinical education from new perspectives to develop deeper understanding of how clinical educator qualities and skills influence student learning and patient care.

Service dissatisfaction and non-attendance in physiotherapy student-led clinics: a qualitative study

Background and Purpose: Student-led physiotherapy clinics are a valuable means for providing education opportunities and cost-effective services to the public. Service dissatisfaction is an important construct in understanding how student-led services can maximize patient care and minimize non-attendance while maintaining effective learning environments. Design: A qualitative interview design was used with semi-structured interviews. Results: Eighteen patients from three different university student-led physiotherapy clinics were interviewed. Five themes emerged that were associated with negative perceptions of service provision: (1) inadequate communication, (2) insufficient supervision, (3) loss of autonomy, (4) time commitment, and (5) continuity of care. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight factors that service providers should consider to mitigate negative patient experiences and relevant implications of dissatisfaction including non-attendance. Ensuring transparency of patient expectations of services and enhancing patient continuity of care between physiotherapists and students are important in minimizing the potentially negative factors associated with student-led health services.

Navigating the system: Physiotherapy student perceptions of performance-based assessment

BACKGROUND

Performance-based assessment (PBA) is an integral component of health professional education as it determines students' readiness for independent practice. Stakeholder input can provide valuable insight regarding its challenges, facilitators, and impact on student learning, which may further its evolution. Currently, evidence of stakeholder opinion is limited. Thus, we aimed to explore physiotherapy students' perceptions of performance-based assessment in their capacity as its central stakeholders.

METHODS

A qualitative interpretive constructivist approach was employed using focus group interviews for data collection. Six focus groups were completed (n = 33). Inductive thematic analysis was used to explore the data.

RESULTS

Two themes were identified. The first outlined perceived inconsistencies within the process, and how these impacted on student learning. The second described how students used their experiential knowledge to identify strategies to manage these challenges thus identifying key areas for improvement.

CONCLUSION

Inconsistencies outlined within the current physiotherapy performance-based assessment process encourage an emphasis on grades rather than on learning. It is timely that the physiotherapy academic and clinical communities consider these findings alongside evidence from other health professions to improve assessment procedures and assure public confidence and patient safety.

Factors associated with patient-satisfaction in student-led physiotherapy clinics: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Student-led physiotherapy clinics are a valuable means for providing clinical education opportunities for student learning and providing cost-effective services to the public. Understanding patient satisfaction within the student-led physiotherapy clinic setting is important to inform organizational, educational, and clinical processes that aim to balance both student learning experiences and quality patient care.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional qualitative design using semi-structured interviews.

RESULTS

A total of 20 patients from three different university student-led physiotherapy clinics were interviewed. Five major themes were associated with patient satisfaction, style of supervision, student-supervisor relationship, quality of physiotherapy care, student qualities and cost, and location of the service.

CONCLUSION

The results emphasize the importance placed by patients on effective communication, as well as the relationship between the supervisor and student overseeing their care. The findings highlight the influence of both the student and supervisor on patient satisfaction and provide insight into the style of student supervision from the perspective of the patient.

Physiotherapy students' perceptions of the dual role of the clinical educator as mentor and assessor: Influence on the teaching-learning relationship

Background

Clinical education is widely considered to be the cornerstone of health care professionals’ education. Clinical educators (CEs) fulfil many roles and act as both mentors and assessors in the learning process of students’ undergraduate health care professions education. However, changing from being a mentor to being an assessor may present particular challenges for both the CE and the students.

Objective

To explore students’ perceptions of how the dual role of a CE as mentor and assessor influenced the teaching–learning (T-L) relationship.

Method

A qualitative descriptive study, involving seven individual semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions, was conducted with students in the Division of Physiotherapy, Stellenbosch University. A contextualised interpretive content analysis was used to analyse the data. By following an iterative process, themes were identified and categories were reviewed and refined.

Results

Challenges were experienced when CEs had to act and change as both mentors and assessors to the needs of the students. This influenced the T-L relationship and consequently impacted the learning of students. The expectations of students and CEs were often not fulfilled. Contradictions were disclosed regarding the dual role of CEs.

Conclusion

The findings of the study, grounded in the perceptions and experiences of students on the dual role of the CE, are highlighted. It is important to consider the challenges that the students face in order to minimise any negative effects these challenges could have on students’ learning processes.

The use of clinical case studies to develop clinical reasoning in sports therapy students: The students' perspective

Aims:

The aim of this study was to examine a cohort of second year undergraduate sports therapy students' perceptions regarding the effectiveness of clinical case studies in the development of clinical reasoning skills, and how clinical case studies may influence performance in a sports injury clinic.

Methods:

The study involved 55 students (23 male, 32 female) and used a mixed methods approach, involving a questionnaire with open ended questions, Likert scale questionnaire and interviews that aimed to determine students' perceptions of their performance. Five main areas were investigated with the open-ended questions: defining clinical reasoning; advantages and disadvantages of clinical case studies; the effectiveness of clinical case studies in comparison to real patients; and whether clinical case studies helped students working in a sports injury clinic. Students completed a 5-point Likert scale that asked three statements regarding the clinical environment. Following the questionnaire, a sample of 15 students were randomly selected for individual interviews.

Findings:

The results suggested that the students' responses were generally in favour of the use of clinical case studies to aid the development of confidence, communication and clinical reasoning.

Conclusions:

Clinical learning is unpredictable due to patient interaction, and therefore clinical case studies might be a learning tool that can be used to assist the journey to clinical competence.

Exploring the experiences and implementing strategies for physiotherapy students who perceive they have been bullied or harassed on clinical placements: participatory action research

OBJECTIVES

To explore and empower physiotherapy students who reported being bullied or harassed on clinical placements by co-developing, implementing and evaluating strategies that could be adopted by the university.

DESIGN

A participatory action research design was employed.

PARTICIPANTS

Two focus groups were carried out involving 5 final year physiotherapy students. In the first focus group negative experiences were discussed and coping strategies suggested for their penultimate placement. A second focus group was held following the students' final placement when these strategies were evaluated and further ones proposed.

ANALYSIS

A thematic analysis of the data was carried out.

RESULTS

Four themes and sub-themes emerged from the analysis. The four themes were negative experiences on placement, coping strategies, the role of the visiting tutor and the assessment. The students' highlighted various degrees of threat to their efficacy and in most cases could draw upon a suggested 'tool box' of coping strategies. They all agreed that serious cases of harassment require wider support from the University senior management team which should be clearly documented. The role of the visiting tutor was deemed to be critical in these situations and recommendations were made regarding this role and the assessment of placements.

CONCLUSION

Students understand that they are going to be assessed before achieving their professional qualification and in essence they will always find themselves in a hierarchical position but equally fairness must prevail and it is important and that there are clear avenues for them to seek support.

Feedback on students' clinical reasoning skills during fieldwork education

Background/aim

Feedback on clinical reasoning skills during fieldwork education is regarded as vital in occupational therapy students' professional development. The nature of supervisors' feedback however, could be confirmative and/or corrective and corrective feedback could be with or without suggestions on how to improve. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of supervisors' feedback on final-year occupational therapy students' clinical reasoning skills through comparing the nature of feedback with the students' subsequent clinical reasoning ability.

Method

A mixed-method approach with a convergent parallel design was used combining the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. From focus groups and interviews with students, data were collected and analysed qualitatively to determine how the students experienced the feedback they received from their supervisors. By quantitatively comparing the final practical exam grades with the nature of the feedback, their fieldwork End-of-Term grades and average academic performance it became possible to merge the results for comparison and interpretation.

Results

Students' clinical reasoning skills seem to be improved through corrective feedback if accompanied by suggestions on how to improve, irrespective of their average academic performance. Supervisors were inclined to underrate high performing students and overrate lower performing students.

Conclusions

Students who obtained higher grades in the final practical examinations received more corrective feedback with suggestions on how to improve from their supervisors. Confirmative feedback alone may not be sufficient for improving the clinical reasoning skills of students.

Developing a clinical teaching quality questionnaire for use in a university osteopathic pre-registration teaching program

BACKGROUND

Clinical education is an important component of many health professional training programs. There is a range of questionnaires to assess the quality of the clinical educator however none are in student-led clinic environments. The present study developed a questionnaire to assess the quality of the clinical educators in the osteopathy program at Victoria University.

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature was used to identify questionnaires that evaluated the quality of clinical teaching. Eighty-three items were extracted and reviewed for their appropriateness to include in a questionnaire by students, clinical educators and academics. A fifty-six item questionnaire was then trialled with osteopathy students. A variety of statistics were used to determine the number of factors to extract. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to investigate the factor structure.

RESULTS

The number of factors to extract was calculated to be between 3 and 6. Review of the factor structures suggested the most appropriate fit was four and five factors. The EFA of the four-factor solution collapsed into three factors. The five-factor solution demonstrated the most stable structure. Internal consistency of the five-factor solution was greater than 0.70.

CONCLUSIONS

The five factors were labelled Learning Environment (Factor 1), Reflective Practice (Factor 2), Feedback (Factor 3) and Patient Management (Factor 4) and Modelling (Factor 5). Further research is now required to continue investigating the construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

Assessing Physical Therapy Students' Performance during Clinical Practice

PURPOSE

To assess the feasibility and acceptability of using the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) instrument to assess physiotherapy students' clinical competencies.

METHODS

A convenience sample of clinical educators (CEs) and students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, completed the instrument currently in use, the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT-CPI), and the APP. A cross-sectional survey of CEs and physiotherapy students was conducted from 2011 to 2012; the survey included questions worded to elicit opinions about the two instruments when used in the clinical environment with students at different stages of training. Questions addressed various aspects of the instruments, including ease of use, provision of feedback, and completion time.

RESULTS

Data were analyzed from 63 CEs from a variety of settings; sufficient data were recorded on 71 student PT-CPI and APP forms. A grading comparison between the PT-CPI and the APP demonstrated equivalence of entry-to-practice standard. Mean completion time was 80 (SD 53) minutes for the PT-CPI and 23 (13) minutes for the APP; mean time difference was 57 (95% CI, 39-75). Students would prefer (82%) that the APP be used to provide feedback and assess their performance on clinical placements.

CONCLUSIONS

It is feasible and acceptable to use the APP to assess physiotherapy students' clinical competencies at the University of British Columbia.

Are physical therapy interns competent in patient management skills? Assessment of the views of clinical and academic physical therapists

[Purpose] This study aimed at evaluating PT interns’ performance from the perspectives of clinical and academic physical therapists (PTs). [Methods] An online questionnaire based on a modified version of the Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool (CIET) was used to evaluate PT interns’ performance in patient management skills. Assessors comprised clinical and academic PTs from Saudi Arabia. The survey aimed at assessing the competency of interns in 25 patient management skills comprising four major domains: clinical examination, patient evaluation, diagnosis and prognosis, and intervention. Assessors were also asked to rank the importance of possessing each skill and evaluating the internship programs at their facilities. A multivariate logistic regression analysis assessed whether the demographic variables between the two groups influenced their views. [Results] A total of 148 participants (112 clinical PTs and 36 academic PTs) responded to the survey. The majority of the participants agreed that interns were competent in all 25 skills. Differences between the two groups of assessors were observed for five out of the 25 skills. Interestingly, skills with the highest means were perceived as the most important skills by both groups of assessors. There was no association between sociodemographic variables and evaluation scores. [Conclusion] There were no differences observed between clinical and academic PTs in their evaluation of PT interns in 20 of the 25 clinical skills. There were indications of a need for further improvement in certain competencies and skills such as clinical examination, evaluation, diagnosis and prognosis, and intervention.

Characteristics of student preparedness for clinical learning: clinical educator perspectives using the Delphi approach

BACKGROUND

During clinical placements, clinical educators facilitate student learning. Previous research has defined the skills, attitudes and practices that pertain to an ideal clinical educator. However, less attention has been paid to the role of student readiness in terms of foundational knowledge and attitudes at the commencement of practice education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to ascertain clinical educators' views on the characteristics that they perceive demonstrate that a student is well prepared for clinical learning.

METHODS

A two round on-line Delphi study was conducted. The first questionnaire was emailed to a total of 636 expert clinical educators from the disciplines of occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology. Expert clinical educators were asked to describe the key characteristics that indicate a student is prepared for a clinical placement and ready to learn. Open-ended responses received from the first round were subject to a thematic analysis and resulted in six themes with 62 characteristics. In the second round, participants were asked to rate each characteristic on a 7 point Likert Scale.

RESULTS

A total of 258 (40.56%) responded to the first round of the Delphi survey while 161 clinical educators completed the second (62.40% retention rate). Consensus was reached on 57 characteristics (six themes) using a cut off of greater than 70% positive respondents and an interquartile deviation IQD of equal or less than 1.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified 57 characteristics (six themes) perceived by clinical educators as indicators of a student who is prepared and ready for clinical learning. A list of characteristics relating to behaviours has been compiled and could be provided to students to aid their preparation for clinical learning and to universities to incorporate within curricula. In addition, the list provides a platform for discussions by professional bodies about the role of placement education.

The clinical seminar as a learning methodology: an evaluation of nursing students' views

OBJECTIVE: To explore students' assessments of the clinical seminar as a complementary teaching method to the clinical practicum experience. METHODS: This was a qualitative study based on the hermeneutic phenomenology of Gadamer. Twenty-three open-ended interviews were conducted from among the 132 first-year students who attended an initial clinical practicum. We performed a qualitative analysis of the data using ATLAS.ti software. RESULTS: The students agreed that the clinical seminar gave them the opportunity to learn about procedures, nursing care and interpersonal relationships. They also found it very helpful when they encountered challenging stressful situations as they performed their practice, and believed it allowed them to make a connection between the theory in the classroom and the clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: These seminars can contribute to reducing levels of stress during clinical practice. They can also help students obtain significant learning from their fellows and reduce the theory-practice gap.