Clinical Reasoning Learner Blueprint: Guiding Teaching and Assessment across Didactic and Clinical Environments
Purpose:
A blueprint is a detailed plan of action to carry a project from start to finish. When considering the development of clinical reasoning (CR) skills over time, a blueprint to guide both educators and students from start to finish is valuable to the educational process. The purpose of this project is to develop a learner blueprint for CR to guide educators in effective and evidence-based teaching, learning, and assessment strategies across the continuum of physical therapy education.
Description:
Phase I (Critical literature review and content analysis): A search of the clinical reasoning literature across health professions was completed and followed by a second search to ensure saturation. Investigators reviewed 260 articles to determine appropriateness of each article related to teaching, learning, and/or assessment of CR. The literature was then categorized to the level of learner (beginner, intermediate, competent or proficient level) and sorted into facilitation versus assessment. Articles that crossed several levels of learner development were categorized in all appropriate levels.
Phase II (Creation of draft blueprint): Investigators reviewed all articles pertaining to a particular learner level, identified common themes and key concepts, and developed an overall summary statement of facilitation and assessment strategies for each level. Specific examples of evidence-based strategies were included at each level. The summaries and examples were reviewed by each investigator to confirm findings and come to consensus of the CR learner draft blueprint.
Phase III (Expert Analysis and validation): A panel of experts in educating professionals and post-professionals in CR was recruited and participated in focus groups for review of the blueprint for content, breadth, depth and accuracy.
Phase IV (Vetting of the blueprint with key stakeholders): Key stakeholders including academic faculty, physical therapy students, physical therapy residents, clinical instructors and patients were recruited to review the blueprint for utility and applicability.
Focus groups for Phase III and IV utilized semi-structured interviews, were transcribed and reviewed by the research team to determine themes and modifications needed for the blueprint.
Summary of Use:
Following revision of the original draft based on the analysis of the focus group results, a final blueprint that describes teaching and learning strategies to facilitate and assess clinical reasoning that are appropriate across the continuum of physical therapy learning will be developed. The results of this project will help to identify successful strategies for assessing and facilitating CR in professional and post professional PT education to assist in steering curricular change across academic and clinical settings.
Importance to Members: The results of this project will help to identify successful strategies for assessing and facilitating CR in professional and post professional PT education to assist in steering curricular change across academic and clinical settings.