Perceptions and Attitudes of Physical Therapist Clinical Instructors Regarding Onsite Clinical Site Visits
Purpose/Hypothesis: Site visits are ubiquitous in entry-level physical therapist education programs, however there is scant evidence that examines best practice regarding site visits. The result is a significant degree of variation among programs in terms of the visit structure, how students and clinical instructors (CIs) are assessed, how the visit influences relationships, among others. This study was designed to investigate the clinical site visit from the standpoint of the CI. We hypothesized that CIs would find onsite visits valuable and would express overall positive attitudes towards site visits.
Number of Subjects: The survey was emailed to 396 clinical instructors who supervised DPT students from the academic program during the previous 3 academic years. 59 individuals consented to participate and completed the survey. The number of years in clinical practice ranged from 5-40 years, and the number of students supervised ranged from 2-100 students.
Materials and Methods: The survey consisted of 32 items, 7 of which asked for demographic information. The survey was administered through Qualtrics and a 4-point Likert scale was utilized for 21 of the items whereby the participant rated each item from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. The responses were considered "positive" if the participant responded Strongly Agree or Agree, and the responses were considered "negative" if the participant responded Strongly Disagree or Disagree.
Results: The survey items were divided into 6 categories: Visit Structure, Student Assessment, Program Assessment, Attitude Assessment, CI Assessment, and Relationships. 100% of participants responded positively to the statement "I am receptive to feedback given by academic faculty during a site visit as it pertains to my clinical instruction." 97% of participants responded positively to the statement "A site visit can be important in resolving issues with student performance." 88% of participants responded positively to the statement "Site visits can improve the communication between me and the academic program." Only 3 of the 21 items that utilized the Likert Scale received a majority of negative responses. 58% of respondents preferred in-person site visits. 75% of individuals responded that the best method of conducting a site visit was when academic faculty meet with the CI and student individually, with a debrief afterwards.
Conclusions: Clinical instructors overall perceive onsite clinical site visits to be a positive experience, especially when it relates to student assessment, developing relationships, and CI assessment. Further research is needed to investigate how best to structure a site visit, frequency of visits, and what specific outcomes are desired. Additional stakeholders, including Site Coordinators of Clinical Education, and students, should also be queried.
Clinical Relevance: The results of this study may assist DPT programs to more efficiently conduct site visits to meet the needs of the clinical instructors, and to more intentionally schedule site visits based on factors such as CI experience.