Effectiveness of the clinical instructor. Students' perspective.

Area of Science:

• Physical Therapy Education
• Clinical Supervision
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Effective clinical instruction is crucial for developing competent physical therapists.
• Existing literature outlines numerous clinical instructor behaviors across communication, interpersonal, professional, and teaching domains.
• Student perspectives on instructor needs are vital for targeted training program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify physical therapy students' perceived training needs for clinical instructors.
• To determine the importance and frequency of specific clinical instructor behaviors from the student viewpoint.
• To pinpoint behaviors for enhanced clinical instructor training programs.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 102 senior physical therapy students.
• Students rated 43 pre-identified clinical instructor behaviors on importance and frequency.
• Correlational analysis examined the relationship between perceived importance and behavior frequency.

Main Results:

• All 43 behaviors were perceived as significant and frequent by students.
• Communication and interpersonal relations were rated highest in importance.
• 16 behaviors showed near-random correlations between importance and frequency, indicating potential training targets.

Conclusions:

• Specific professional skills and teaching behaviors emerged as key areas for clinical instructor training.
• The study identified 16 targeted behaviors for improving clinical instructor effectiveness.
• This student-centered approach offers a framework for developing effective physical therapy training programs.