Early Identification/Readiness for Clinical Internships; A Systematic Approach
Purpose: Develop a systematic approach to identify and track students’ soft skills in preparation for a successful clinical internship.
Description: According to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)1, Physical therapy educators have the responsibility of developing physical therapy students who demonstrate readiness for their first clinical experience through knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional behaviors, including, interprofessional communication, accountability, and clinical reasoning. Traditional methods of assessing student readiness for clinical internships have typically been limited to practical skills assessments. The means for identifying and analyzing the level of student preparedness in attitudes and professional behaviors including interprofessional communication and accountability is lacking2,3.
Summary of Use: Faculty focus group comprised of the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) and senior faculty in the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) program were chosen to identify key soft skills necessary for clinical readiness. Six soft skill assessments were selected from the Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI)4 to cover the following 3 domains: • Professional Behaviors
• Communication
• Professional Development
A practical rubric containing the 3 domains was designed and issued to faculty to use in addition to the practical testing skills-check rubrics. Students identified as deficient in any of the soft skills domains were logged into a faculty shared document. Once identified, the student met with the Academic Advisor, Faculty Advisor, and Program Director to develop the remediation plan to promote a successful clinical experience
Data was collected over the past year from the soft skills tracker, the CPI, and student grade point average (GPA) for the term following implementation of the remediation plan. Preliminary data is promising; no soft skill deficiencies have been identified during clinical internship, and GPAs have increased.
Importance to Members: Early identification with appropriate remediation of soft skills can be a useful addition to educational programs where student professionalism and communication are critical to success. Implementation of a systematic process to identify students who are deficient in the soft skill domains can be relatively simple yet effective in promoting student preparedness for clinical internship. With this systematic identification and tracking approach, soft skills can be assessed, issues identified, and remediation plans initiated before the students enter the clinical site. The American council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) supports the importance of identifying effective soft skills and proposes that to demonstrate clinical readiness, students should engage in self-assessment, utilize constructive feedback, and demonstrate effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills.5