Joint university-hospital appointments in physical therapy and occupational therapy schools in Canada

A joint appointment is a position agreed to by a health service facility and an educational institution where the appointee holds a position in each affiliated institution and carries out defined responsibilities in each. In light of the growing costs of higher education, financial cut backs, the need to respond to manpower shortages and the expanding need for clinical research, the benefits of joint university-clinical appointments should be considered by academic and clinical institutions in physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT). To obtain data on existing joint university-clinical positions in Canadian PT and OT schools, mailed survey questionnaires were conducted. The purpose of the survey was to gain information on these appointments so that future faculty-clinical roles in PT and OT could be developed. An initial questionnaire was mailed to the 25 directors of the Canadian PT and OT education programs to obtain information on existing joint appointments and the names of joint appointees holding these positions. A second questionnaire was sent to 104 joint appointees to gather information on their perceptions of these positions. The results of this survey suggest that with continuing manpower shortages, demand for clinical research, increase in student enrollment and insufficient number of faculty members, there is a need to develop these roles further.