Integrated Clinical Experience Goes To Trinidad
Purpose
The purpose of this educational session is to present a PT Program’s expansion of its integrated clinical education internationally to Trinidad over the last two years.
Methods and/or Description of Project
This session will present New York University's Program’s expansion of its integrated clinical education internationally. It will analyze integrated clinical experiences that have been part of the curriculum through four Clinical Observation courses during the fall and spring semesters of the curriculum’s second and third years. The expansion will be discussed of the Clinical Observation with Master Clinicians over 2 years globally exposing students to clinical multi-cultural learning, initially with 3 students in Trinidad for two-weeks during intersession between fall and spring terms and then with 7 students the following year. The session will present how the clinical sites were selected in the health complex of the largest petroleum company and one of the largest hospitals on the island. This course will also detail student follow-up activities.
Results/Outcomes
Students were overwhelming positive about their learning experiences, about their ability to integrate their academic knowledge in a global environment, and about their ability to use their clinical skills with a varied patient population. Sharing these experiences with their classmates upon return broadened their view of service delivery and prepared them for their upcoming full-time clinical experiences in the United States.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: The Pursuit of Excellence in Physical Therapy Education
Excellence in physical therapist professional education has for many years required cultural sensitivity and to further this pursuit of excellence is the need to share concerns in what is constantly evolving into an interconnected world. With the globalization of so many facets of life today coupled with global education being a part of the mission of many higher education institutions, provision of these international experiences to professional physical therapist students broadens the perspective of a new generation of physical therapists and enhances their professional skills and cultural sensitivity for service delivery in practice.
References
Ahluwalia P, Cameron D, Cockburn L, et al. Analyzing international clinical education practices for Canadian rehabilitation students. BMC Med Educ. 2014 Sep 9;14:187.
Mai JA, Thiele A, O’Dell B, et al. Utilization of an integrated clinical experience in a physical therapist education. J Phys Ther Educ. 2013;27(2):25–30.
McCallum CA, Mosher PD, Jacobson PJ. Quality in physical therapist clinical education: A systematic review. 2013;93(10):1298-311.
Pechak CM, Black JD. Exploring international clinical education in US-based programs: identifying common practices and modifying an existing conceptual model of international service-learning. Physiother Theory Pract. 2014;30(2):94-104.
Pechak CM, Black JD. Proposed guidelines for international clinical education in us-based physical therapist education programs: Results of a focus group and delphi study. Phys Ther. 2014;94(4):523-33.
Weddle ML, Sellheim DO. An integrative curriculum model preparing physical therapists for vision 2020 practice. J Phys Ther Educ. 2009;23(1):12–20.
Wruble Hakim E, Moffat M, Becker E, et al. Application of educational theory and evidence in support of an integrated model of clinical education. J Phys Ther Educ. 2014;28:13-21.
Course Objectives
Assess the integrated model of clinical education using both traditional clinical affiliations and non-traditional clinical observations of Master Clinicians.
Describe the role and requirements of being Master Clinicians for this integrated experience.
Detail the expansion of the Master Clinician concept into a global setting and analyze the initial experiences in Trinidad.
Assess the outcomes of the global Master Clinician experiences for both students and Master Clinicians.
Instructional Methods
Lecture
Student Video Presentations
Discussion
Tentative Outline/Schedule
5 min: Introduction
1 hour and 45 minutes (with a 5 minute break)
Integrated clinical experiences of a combination of four full-time summer Clinical Affiliation courses and four Clinical Observation courses
Objectives of Clinical Observation courses and roles of Master Clinicians and students in these observations
Expansion of the Clinical Observation with Master Clinicians in a global context
Experiences in 2014 and 2015 in Trinidad
Future expansion to Israel