Clinical faculty (Center Coordinator of Clinical Education and/or Clinical Instructor) meet the following minimum criteria:
Clinical faculty practice legally and ethically Clinical faculty are motivated and willing to serve.
Clinical instructors have one year clinical experience as a licensed physical therapist. CCCE‟s have two years clinical experience (as a physical therapist or other appropriate experience). Clinical faculty have an understanding of the clinical education/clinical supervision process. Clinical faculty are willing to make a commitment to continuing development of clinical teaching skills.
Clinical faculty have a commitment to timely and effective communication with students and Department of Physical Therapy Faculty.
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Clinical faculty are willing to follow FGCU policies as set forth in the clinical agreement and Department of Physical Therapy Clinical Education Plan.
These areas include but are not limited to, nondiscrimination, safety, confidentiality, student orientation to affiliate, and communication.
In initial identification of clinic sites, compliance with these criteria are assessed through conversations with the CCCE/CI. Additional assessment is carried out through observation/conversation with the CI and the student at the time of the site/phone visit. Particular attention is paid to the student report of whether the CI is available and providing supervision appropriate to the level of the student‟s needs. If problems are identified at the time of the site visit, the ACCE initiates discussion with the CI at that time and follows up with the CI and/or the CCCE as needed.
Additionally, at the end of each clinic, the student submits the Student Evaluation of Clinic form
(Appendix F-13). These are reviewed soon after the submission in order for the ACCE to follow up in a timely manner with the CCCE and the CI for any identified problems. Clinical instructor assessment is also addressed in the clinic debrief meetings. Students are urged to talk privately with the ACCE if they don‟t feel comfortable putting concerns in writing.
In spring 2006, a student identified one Clinical Instructor early in the Residency as being inappropriate in her interactions with patients, professional demeanor, and willingness to serve as an effective CI. The student appropriately requested a change in clinical instructors through the CCCE and this was granted. The student then notified the ACCE of the change. The ACCE discussed this situation with the CCCE, who was the new CI for the student, and the student at the time of the mid-term site visit. The change was a positive one and is a good example of a student using appropriate protocol to identify and solve a problem. The original CI is no longer employed at the clinic. She will not serve as a CI for FGCU students in the future.
A Clinical Instructor Self-Assessment was included in the December 2006 survey of clinical instructors. This provided a means of having the clinical instructor examine his/her own performance. The response rate for the survey was low (15 of 54), but it is possible that additional CIs completed the survey for their own use.
Clinical Instructors as a whole have expressed the desire for attending the basic clinical instructor course. The course offered by the Florida Consortium of Clinical Educators has been offered in Southwest Florida numerous times (approximately every two years since 1996). Additionally the APTA Clinical Instructor Credentialing workshop was offered in September 2005 (18 participants) and again in May 2006 (16 participants). Even with these opportunities during the past year, less than half of the clinical instructors supervising students were credentialed. During the site visits, most of the clinical instructors endorsed the concept and expressed a desire for the workshop; however, clinical support in the way of paying registration fees and giving paid time off is limited. Some clinicians expressed interest in having
some form of credentialing available by electronic means.
Based on the APTA Manipulation Education Manual and the Normative Model, spinal manipulation and thrust techniques were added to the curriculum; however, CIs have not understood this as an entry-level skill. In response to requests from CIs, two faculty who have Orthopedic Clinical Specialty (OCS) presented a one-day workshop in July 2005 and will repeat it in Summer 2006 for interested clinicians. As a whole, the clinical instructors that provide supervision and education to our students provide excellent educational opportunities to our students, but would benefit from continued support on using
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effective feedback strategies and strategies for planning learning experiences in areas of practice not easily identified (eg...consultation, management).
Collective Core Faculty
F-18 The core faculty includes a blend of individuals with doctoral preparation or clinical specialization sufficient to meet program goals and expected program outcomes.
The core faculty are individuals who have breadth and depth of experience sufficient to meet the goals and expected outcomes of the program. Please refer back to the tables in F-1 that provide details on faculty expertise. All core faculty, with the exception of R. Lopez-Rosado, have a degree in Physical Therapy. S. Irish Bevins is PhD prepared. A. van Duijn is doctorally prepared and a certified orthopedic specialist. K. Swanick has a clinical doctorate in Physical Therapy, is a certified orthopedic specialist, and is completing final coursework in a PhD program. T. Bevins has completed all of his doctoral coursework and required internship and is at the qualifying and dissertation phase of his studies. E. Williamson has taken her qualifying examination this summer and will next move on to the dissertation phase of her program. R. Lopez-Rosado is prepared at the graduate level with a Master of Arts degree in Biomedical Sciences, with a concentration in human anatomy. He is also currently enrolled in FGCU‟s graduate program in physical therapy and has completed his second year in the program. L. Jack is prepared at the graduate level with an MSPT and also has completed a Certificate in Gerontology. Together, the faculty have the necessary blend of talent, skills, education, and experience sufficient to meet the program‟s goals and outcomes. Collectively the faculty have knowledge and clinical experience in all major areas of practice and have worked in all common practice settings.
The core faculty who have earned a doctorate or who are completing a doctorate have pursued a degree in education. This leads to a faculty who is highly knowledgeable about curriculum, instruction and
assessment. One of the program‟s strengths is found in its teaching team format. Team teaching allows for multiple faculty assigned to the vast majority of courses in the curriculum. These teaching teams provide students with faculty who blend sound educational theory and clinical experience and facilitate students to develop knowledge and skills necessary for providing physical therapy services for clients across the entire lifespan.
Because of the shared interest and expertise of core faculty in educational theory and methodology within Physical Therapy education, the collective faculty are able to collaborate on both curriculum design evaluation and revision as well as scholarly activities. Through this integrative activity, the faculty ensure the achievement of all program goals and expect program outcomes.
F-19 The collective core faculty initiate, adopt, evaluate, and uphold academic regulations specific to the program and compatible with institutional rules and practices. The regulations address, but are not limited to, admission requirements; the clinical education program; grading policy; minimum performance levels, including those relating to professional and ethical behaviors; and student progression through the program.
The collective core faculty initiate, adopt, evaluate, and uphold program regulations that are compatible with all institutional rules and practices. The collective faculty, at the time that the program was initiated, developed all of the initial program rules, policies, and practices. Clinical Education and Admissions policies are stand-alone documents. Other policies are incorporated into the Student Guidebook so that all information about program rules and practices are clearly communicated to students. The guidebook includes policies and procedures related to grading, minimum performance levels, professional behavior, ethical practice, and student progression. The guidebook is reviewed and revised regularly (at least
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annually) by the faculty at Faculty Council departmental meetings and at the departmental annual retreat. In general, all policies are reviewed at a minimum of every five years, although the need for change triggers an earlier review. Specifics about program review of policies, rules, and regulations can be found in the Program Planning and Assessment Document in Criterion P-4.
Faculty have numerous and systematic avenues for participation in the development, adoption, implementation, evaluation, and revision of all program policies, rules, and practices. The department chair monitors compliance of the policies within the program. However, all faculty are responsible, in part, for monitoring academic policies through their involvement in individual courses, independent study/thesis, and their role as faculty advisors. As part of the development, evaluation, review, and revision of all policies, the program ensures that all policies are compatible with the institutional rules and practices. An example of this would include issues related to Student Appeals. Program policies can be found in the program Student Guidebook and in the University Student Handbook (Supporting
Documents CD).
For example, feedback by faculty indicated a need for the addition of an “essential functions” section in the guidebook. This issue was brought to the Department Faculty Council for discussion and input. A sub-group of faculty members drafted the document and brought it back to the full Faculty Council for further input and approval. A need for a recent update of the background check policy was similarly brought forward to the Faculty Council, where it was discussed. The ACCE drafted a policy, all faculty gave input electronically, and it was brought back to the full Faculty Council for approval.
Other documents such as the Clinical Education Policies can be found in Appendix P-10.
F-20 The collective core faculty have primary responsibility for the curriculum plan. The core faculty develop, review, and revise the curriculum plan with input from clinical education faculty, associated faculty, the clinical community, and students.
Ongoing curricular development, review, and revision are the purview of the faculty. On a monthly basis, the collective faculty, including associated faculty from the department, meet to engage in curricular review of selected department courses on a three year rotating basis. Student course feedback is solicited every semester and incorporated into curricular review discussions by the entire faculty. Clinical
education faculty also give written feedback to the ACCE that is incorporated into the Clinical Report and brought to Faculty Council as part of the curricular review process. Faculty involvement with area
clinicians also provides feedback to the curriculum of the community perspective. The curricular plan is reviewed by the collective faculty regularly annually.
F-21 The collective core faculty determine each student’s readiness to engage in clinical education, including review of performance deficits and unsafe practices of the students.
Each student‟s readiness to enter into clinical education is determined by the core faculty through several mechanisms. Please refer to the Program Progression and Retention Standards found in the Student Guidebook (Supporting Documents CD, PT Student Guidebook). Specifically, students must be in good academic standing and have successfully completed all prerequisite coursework and have no issues in the Professional Behaviors area that would preclude them from progressing into clinical education. As part of the PT Practice series of courses, each final exam consists of written, oral, and practical components. Students must pass the practical components of the exam in order to pass the course. Patient safety is part of every practical exam grading criteria and is considered essential to pass a practical examination.
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The ACCE communicates with core faculty to monitor student‟s progression through coursework and readiness for clinic. Typically this is done through faculty council meetings, but is also done through verbal and e-mail communication.
F-22. The collective core faculty is sufficient in number to allow each individual core faculty member to meet the teaching, scholarship, and service expectations (Criteria F1-F4) and to achieve the expected program outcomes through student advising and mentorship, admissions activities, educational administration, curriculum development, instructional design,
coordination of the activities of the associated faculty, coordination of the clinical education program, governance, clinical practice, and evaluation of expected student outcomes and other program outcomes.
The number of core faculty is sufficient to carry out the daily expectations in teaching, scholarship, and service. Since FGCU is a predominantly teaching-focused institution, the faculty carry significantly high teaching assignments, as compared to other institutions. However, PT core faculty workload is
comparable to other faculty in the college and university, based on the workload formula. The workload formula at FGCU does not differentiate between undergraduate and graduate teaching and, therefore, at times does not account for the faculty-intensive interactions with graduate students both in and out of the classroom. Because several of the core faculty teach across both undergraduate and graduate programs, there is no room within their workloads for growth in student enrollment in course sections.
Faculty are all involved in department, college, and/or university service activities. Although not assigned by the department chair, some faculty engage in extremely high service commitments, that are often integrated into their scholarly activities.
Faculty have also integrated their scholarly efforts with their teaching assignments. Since educational research is a predominant focus of the composite core faculty, scholarly activities are an extension of their teaching role.
Dedicated time for scholarly writing or clinical practice is not easily scheduled within faculty schedules. Core Faculty workloads were brought in line with the college faculty average during this past academic year. The department chair continues to strive for increasing faculty resources in order to increase the scholarly productivity of the composite faculty, as well as to take on the workload associated with moving the program to the DPT. It has been requested that the ACCE position, once vacated due to retirement, be returned to a 12-month position. Additionally, it has been requested that the .5 FTE position of Dr. VanDuijn be increased to a 1.0 position. Lastly, the conversion of the program to the DPT will require new faculty positions and increased staff support.
CORE FACULTY WORKLOAD DISTRIBUTION FORM