Systematic clinical placement of physical therapy students

The focus of this article is a description of a management information system (MIS) designed to handle the task of matching physical therapy students with clinical education facilities in fulfillment of clinical requirements of the physical therapy curriculum. The use of a specialized MIS for the assignment of physical therapy students to clinical sites has resulted in a high degree of suitable placements, pairing students' needs with the resources of clinical sites. Multiple applications of the system to the placement task also have resulted in successful matching. The clinical placement system was designed to facilitate adaptation to an automated system in the future. Applications of the proposed computer-assisted placement system and the advantages of such a system in terms of administration and research in clinical education also are presented.