Allied health perceptions of effective clinical instruction

Clinical instruction is a critical component of allied health education. The purposes of this study were to identify those behaviors of clinical instructors perceived as both most effective and most hindering in facilitating learning, to identify and compare the behaviors of clinical instructors as perceived by two different allied health groups, and to categorize into meaningful domains the behaviors identified. A published 58-item questionnaire was completed by 311 clinical students and instructors from eight physical therapy and ten physician assistant programs. Results were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance. Instructor behaviors rated as most helpful in learning included answering questions clearly, taking time for discussion and questions, and providing opportunities for practicing skills. Behaviors most hindering to learning were asking questions in an intimidating manner and correcting student errors in front of patients. Ratings were significantly different (P less than or equal to .001) between the physical therapy and physician assistant groups on 13 items, and posed important considerations for allied health educators.