On organizational models for clinical education

For reasons more epistemological than pedagogical, the preclinical, theoretical part of allied health education can be provided by a relatively small number of faculty in a centralized educational institution. Clinical education, however, is pluralistic, requiring a variety of clinical teachers, who use a variety of clinical approaches, in various clinical settings. Three models for the organization of clinical education are explored: 1) the external model, in which theory teaching is offered in an educational institution relatively divorced from clinical teaching provided in clinical service settings; 2) the internal model, in which both theory and clinical teaching are provided in the same institution; and 3) the bridging model, in which educational and clinical service institutions remain organizationally separate but with bridging arrangements to facilitate the clinical education. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are considered.