Student Perspectives of Integrated Clinical Practicum Experiences in Physical Therapy Education: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: The goal of this pilot study was to discover students' perspective of clinical practicum experiences utilized for accreditation-required Integrated Clinical Experiences in doctor of physical therapy education. This study aimed to learn how students perceived the value of participating in institution-based clinical practicum experiences and the perceived utility and value of these clinical practicum experiences to their future careers in physical therapy. PROCEDURES: A case study design using an agreement survey followed by randomized semi-structured interviews with a cohort of physical therapy students provided the data to inform investigators of student perspectives regarding clinical practicum experiences. FINDINGS: Students overwhelmingly agreed that practicum adds value to their education and was worth the time spent. Students reflected that practicum was a strength of their education, provided and built upon skills above the didactic curriculum, and improved their ability to perform during full-time clinical education experiences. Students perceived that full-time clinical education experiences would have greater effect on their future career direction than clinical practicum experiences. CONCLUSION: Students perceived that clinical practicum experiences are valuable in their physical therapy education, in preparation for full-time clinical education experiences, and for beginning careers as physical therapists, but do not influence their future career direction.

An Integrated Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Session: Utilizing an Online Collaborative Platform in a Synchronous Classroom Setting.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health concern worldwide. It is important to provide high-quality instructional sessions to students about the pathogenesis and risk factors of TB, as medical students are likely to encounter TB infections in clinical practice. Methods: We describe an interactive instructional session integrating immunology and microbiology concepts of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection that was presented to first-year medical students in their respiratory organ systems course. The session included a pretest primer followed by a brief review of mucosal immunity with an emphasis on the respiratory system. Using an online collaborative application, learners created a study guide on a shared spreadsheet while faculty provided real-time feedback. Following the cloud-based portion, faculty presented interactive lectures using student-created content. The session concluded with a formative posttest. We evaluated the session with responses to an optional student survey. Results: One hundred fourteen students (37% male and 63% female) completed the survey across 4 years from 2016 to 2019. The session received high student satisfaction ratings across five questions, with 83% of students indicating they were slightly satisfied to strongly satisfied. The students had an absolute increase in their scores of 31% on the posttest as compared to the pretest mean (p < .001). Discussion: We developed an interactive TB instructional session that integrates disciplines, contains real-time instructor feedback, and promotes teamwork in a large class setting. The session allows medical students to learn content and create their own study guide using online collaboration technology.

Home health physical therapy intervention for an adolescent after intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor limb-lengthening surgery: a case report.

UNLABELLED: This case report describes the physical therapy episode of care for an adolescent following surgical placement of an intramedullary skeletal kinetic distractor (ISKD) to minimize a leg-length discrepancy (LLD). METHODS: A 14-year-old female was referred to home health physical therapy 2 weeks after ISKD placement in her right femur. The initial evaluation revealed the need to instruct in ISKD limb-lengthening exercises, strength, flexibility, and endurance exercises and provide functional mobility training. RESULTS: The patient received nine treatments over 8 weeks. Her right femur length increased by 4 cm. Improvements occurred with functional mobility, the Bruinincks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, and the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory. DISCUSSION: Home health physical therapy assisted this patient with reducing her LLD and improving her functional mobility. Further research is needed to identify the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions on functional mobility for adolescents after ISKD placements.