Benefits and Challenges of Supervising Physical Therapy Students in the State of Kuwait: A National Study

One common component of allied health education is clinical fieldwork. It is the bridge between the didactic curriculum and clinical practice. Clinical supervisors perceive that being a clinical supervisor has both benefits and challenges. A modified questionnaire was distributed to 75 physical therapists who had previously or were currently engaged in supervising physical therapy students in 12 public hospitals in the State of Kuwait. In addition to demographic data, the questionnaire asked about the benefits and challenges associated with supervising students. The results indicated that the clinical fieldwork supervisors regarded their student supervision process as highly beneficial and reported that it improved their professionalism, problem-solving skills, and clinical reasoning. Challenges to supervision included students' lack of theoretical knowledge, poor hands-on skills, and poor writing/documentation skills. Suggestions are put forth to promote additional benefits and overcome existing challenges to develop a more successful physical therapy clinical education process for the supervisors and the students.