First-Year Curriculum Implementation of ICE Experiences in Lieu of 1:1 Full-Time Clinical Experiences
Background and Purpose: To illustrate collaborative Integrative Clinical Education (ICE) program implementation in lieu of 1:1 full-time clinical experiences within the first-year curriculum at Eastern Washington University (EWU). Background: Historically, clinical education at EWU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program started with a 5-week clinical experience in the summer following the first academic year in the program. Survey feedback reported that CIs felt significant hardship in placing EWU students for this 5-week internship. Students also reported issues such as significant variations in clinical experiences regarding CI supervision and guidance. ICE would provide program flexibility by employing a hybrid and collaborative clinical education model. Both CIs and program faculty could work with students, and several students could work together in collaborative clinical learning environments. An ICE model would decrease variation in student clinical experiences and reduce burden on EWU’s CIs.
Case Description: ICE models were researched from a variety of interdisciplinary fields. The American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) definition of and parameters for ICE proved to be integral to EWU’s ICE program design implementation. All first-year course syllabi were reviewed to organize a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of DPT-skill instruction. Following the review of first-year course syllabi, appropriate ICE experience learning objectives were created. After educating local CIs about ICE and the proposed change to EWU’s clinical education model, EWU invited CI collaboration in identifying appropriate ICE experiences within their respective settings. EWU then initiated formal ICE program design.
Outcomes: The first-year cohort of 38 students were divided into 6 student groups for 6 unique ICE experiences. ICE experiences last approximately 4 hours every week in the spring quarter for a total of 8 weeks. Using this collaborative model will provide students with an opportunity to gain exposure to varied clinical settings by having each group rotate or “cycle through” ICE experiences weekly. ICE experiences cover acute care, outpatient orthopedic, pediatric, inpatient and outpatient neuro, as well as pro bono clinic settings.
Discussion: The collaborative ICE experiences were designed for students to demonstrate appropriate professional behavior, legal competence, safety awareness, and ethical practice in the clinical setting while decreasing CI burden. Following EWU’s ICE program, both students and CIs will be surveyed to assess the outcome in these aforementioned areas.