Wong M1, Shore S1, Chung W1, Matsuda G1
1Azusa Pacific University, Physical Therapy, Azusa, United States
Background: There is a need to develop a true partnership between academic programs and clinical sites in the promotion of student learning and clinical competency. According to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), the accrediting agency that is nationally recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), CAPTE standard 4.0 states that "academic programs must ensure that Clinical Instructors who supervise their students are effective models and clinical teachers". Optimal learning environments can be challenging for clinical instructors/mentors (CI) who supervise students from different institutions that use varying methods of teaching, various classification systems with varying expectations of skills and competence.
The recent development of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) by the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) can be a critical and foundational tool that bridges the musculoskeletal educational experience into the clinic. Mobile learning apps based on the clinical practice guidelines provide a common language and knowledge base from which to engage student/CI discussion around clinical cases.
Purpose: To present a model of mobile app based clinical practice guideline implementation throughout the curriculum that continues collaboratively into the clinic, and to explore the impact on learning, satisfaction, and sense of academic partnership as experienced by both Clinical Instructor (CI) and student.
Methods: In an effort to foster partnership and provide a common language and knowledge base between student and CI, a letter was distributed by email to 30 Clinical Instructors who were scheduled to receive physiotherapy students during a full-time musculoskeletal clinical experience. The letter presented an option to participate in a pilot project with the physiotherapy program. All volunteers were given codes to the suite of clinical apps used by the physiotherapy students during their academic courses.
Prior to the student's arrival, participating CIs agreed to engage in two webinars explaining the implementation of the orthopaedic clinical practice guidelines in the entry level curriculum, the integration of mobile apps, and how this could be applied to the clinical environment. Clinical Instructors agreed to complete a questionnaire before the student arrived, to integrate and discuss relevant content with the student under their supervision, and to complete a follow up questionnaire at the close of the clinical experience.
Students were surveyed about the use of mobile apps in both the academic and clinical setting, and the perceived impact of having this common learning tool for clinical discussions with their CI.
Results: Results from student and CI questionnaires will be presented, including strengths, weaknesses, benefits, and perceived difficulties with the use of this common tool across the didactic and clinical curriculum experience.
Conclusion(s): A common digital learning tool based on clinical practice guidelines for musculoskeletal care can provide a bridge between the academic and the clinical settings. It fosters a partnership by providing a common language and frame of reference for CI and student.
Implications: Using mobile apps based on clinical practice guidelines throughout the educational curriculum and into the clinical environment can be a useful tool for building collaboration between the educational institution and their supporting clinical education sites.
Keywords: Education, Clinical, Guidelines
Funding acknowledgements: No funding involved
The recent development of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) by the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) can be a critical and foundational tool that bridges the musculoskeletal educational experience into the clinic. Mobile learning apps based on the clinical practice guidelines provide a common language and knowledge base from which to engage student/CI discussion around clinical cases.
Purpose: To present a model of mobile app based clinical practice guideline implementation throughout the curriculum that continues collaboratively into the clinic, and to explore the impact on learning, satisfaction, and sense of academic partnership as experienced by both Clinical Instructor (CI) and student.
Methods: In an effort to foster partnership and provide a common language and knowledge base between student and CI, a letter was distributed by email to 30 Clinical Instructors who were scheduled to receive physiotherapy students during a full-time musculoskeletal clinical experience. The letter presented an option to participate in a pilot project with the physiotherapy program. All volunteers were given codes to the suite of clinical apps used by the physiotherapy students during their academic courses.
Prior to the student's arrival, participating CIs agreed to engage in two webinars explaining the implementation of the orthopaedic clinical practice guidelines in the entry level curriculum, the integration of mobile apps, and how this could be applied to the clinical environment. Clinical Instructors agreed to complete a questionnaire before the student arrived, to integrate and discuss relevant content with the student under their supervision, and to complete a follow up questionnaire at the close of the clinical experience.
Students were surveyed about the use of mobile apps in both the academic and clinical setting, and the perceived impact of having this common learning tool for clinical discussions with their CI.
Results: Results from student and CI questionnaires will be presented, including strengths, weaknesses, benefits, and perceived difficulties with the use of this common tool across the didactic and clinical curriculum experience.
Conclusion(s): A common digital learning tool based on clinical practice guidelines for musculoskeletal care can provide a bridge between the academic and the clinical settings. It fosters a partnership by providing a common language and frame of reference for CI and student.
Implications: Using mobile apps based on clinical practice guidelines throughout the educational curriculum and into the clinical environment can be a useful tool for building collaboration between the educational institution and their supporting clinical education sites.
Keywords: Education, Clinical, Guidelines
Funding acknowledgements: No funding involved
Topic: Education: clinical; Education: methods of teaching & learning; Information management, technology & big data
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Azusa Pacific University
Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board
Reason not required: This is a quality improvement, action research style study which is not defined as regulated human subjects research in the United States
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
