Physical therapist student and clinical instructor perceptions of the Clinical Performance Instrument 3.0 (CPI 3.0):...

The Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) has been adopted by US academic physical therapist (PT) programs as a key measure of clinical education performance. In May 2023, the APTA released an updated version, the CPI 3.0, which included significant changes. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of students (SPTs) and clinical instructors (CIs) who were the initial users of the CPI 3.0.

Retrospective study utilizing an investigator-created electronic survey meant to measure the constructs of technology, scoring, and stakeholder burden compared to the previous version. The survey was sent out to five cohorts of students and their CIs who used the CPI 3.0 for a full-time clinical experience during the inaugural release. IRB approval was obtained.

Students (n = 63) and CIs (n = 47) reported that the CPI 3.0 platform was easy to access (95.2% SPT; 76.6% CI) and navigate (93.5% SPT; 72.3% CI). However, submission problems were experienced. More than 90% of students and CIs agreed that the CPI 3.0 was able to capture an accurate reflection of student performance. In addition, 91.1% of CIs reported that the tool would enable them to capture student performance difficulties that would put them at risk of not passing. Those that used the previous version of the CPI agreed that the CPI 3.0 was less time consuming (64.3% SPT; 76.3% CI) and burdensome (60.5% SPT; 68.4% CI).

Students and CIs perceived the CPI 3.0 favorably in terms of ability to capture performance, time to complete, and overall burden.