Well, maybe... But maybe the students' positive post-clinical comments are just an attempt to score a few last minute brownie points... So I asked the following question via social media: What qualities are most important for an effective Clinical Instructor? Here is the best answer I received from Jan Spigner, PT, Del Mar College PTA Program Director: The top 4 qualities of Clinical Instructors, as determined by survey of PT and PTA students are Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, Professional skills, and Teaching skills. (Emery MJ, Wilkinson CP. Perceived importance and frequency of clinical teaching behaviors; survey of students, CI, and CCCE. Journal of Physical Therapy Education. 1987; 1 (1): 29-32.)
OK... before I go any further, I must make a small confession. There is no "Top 10 List". That was just a cheap online marketing trick to grab the reader's attention. Sorry about that... There is really only one suggestion for you current or prospective Clinical Instructors out there.
What should we really focus on with students during clinical rotations? Well, the obvious answer is, we should ensure that students can provide safe and effective entry-level patient care. But we need to get students to think beyond the "how" of data collection and interventions and develop students' ability to ask "why". I've recently come to the conclusion that we need to do a better job of challenging students to think critically and problem solve. I have worked in a number of settings over the years and at times have observed clinicians (both PT and PTA) that seem to just go through the motions. Progressing from yellow to red resistance band is not critical thinking.
The most important time for critical thinking is probably during the first 2-3 treatment sessions after the evaluation. Clinicians should be asking some very important questions during this time frame. As PTA's we should be looking and thinking critically at each patient, each intervention, during each treatment session and asking the question: Is this patient improving? What evidence exists in the medical record of this progress? What are the patient's goals? If the patient is not improving, what action is being taken? Is the supervising PT being apprised of the status?
I hope this gives you something to consider as you treat patients, and as you serve as a Clinical Instructor for PTA students.
OK... before I go any further, I must make a small confession. There is no "Top 10 List". That was just a cheap online marketing trick to grab the reader's attention. Sorry about that... There is really only one suggestion for you current or prospective Clinical Instructors out there.
What should we really focus on with students during clinical rotations? Well, the obvious answer is, we should ensure that students can provide safe and effective entry-level patient care. But we need to get students to think beyond the "how" of data collection and interventions and develop students' ability to ask "why". I've recently come to the conclusion that we need to do a better job of challenging students to think critically and problem solve. I have worked in a number of settings over the years and at times have observed clinicians (both PT and PTA) that seem to just go through the motions. Progressing from yellow to red resistance band is not critical thinking.
The most important time for critical thinking is probably during the first 2-3 treatment sessions after the evaluation. Clinicians should be asking some very important questions during this time frame. As PTA's we should be looking and thinking critically at each patient, each intervention, during each treatment session and asking the question: Is this patient improving? What evidence exists in the medical record of this progress? What are the patient's goals? If the patient is not improving, what action is being taken? Is the supervising PT being apprised of the status?
I hope this gives you something to consider as you treat patients, and as you serve as a Clinical Instructor for PTA students.
What is your experience regarding PTA Students and clinical reasoning/problem solving? Is this something that can be taught? How do you challenge students in this regard?
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