Director of Clinical Education Performance Assessment Surveys: A 360-Degree Assessment of the Unique Roles and Responsibilities of This Position in Physical Therapy Education

• Published in: Journal of physical therapy education Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 13 - 21
• Main Authors: Buccieri, Kathleen M., Rodriguez, Jennifer, Smith, Susan S., Robinson, Robert, Gallivan, Sean P., Frost, Jody S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Louis Journal of Physical Therapy Education 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Colleges & universities; Education; Educational Environment; Experiential Learning; Faculty Development; Physical therapists; Physical therapy
• ISSN: 0899-1855; 1938-3533
• DOI: 10.1097/00001416-201207000-00003

Academic coordinators/directors of clinical education (DCEs) serve unique roles in physical therapist education programs with responsibilities that extend beyond those of teaching, service, and scholarship. Traditional faculty evaluation tools frequently fail to capture the diverse leadership, administrative, managerial, and experiential teaching responsibilities of these faculty members. The purpose of this project was to develop a set of assessment surveys for the DCE to use to solicit comprehensive performance feedback. A comprehensive literature review, analysis of professional documents and existing institutional tools, and feedback solicited from evaluator groups informed the development of the DCE Performance Assessment Surveys (Surveys). Fifty-six accredited physical therapist (PT) and physical therapist assistant (PTA) programs self-identified as the sample of convenience to pilot test the Surveys. The majority of program directors (88%) indicated they would consider using the Surveys. Clinical education faculty (88.6%) and academic faculty (84%) respondents stated they would be willing to complete a Survey for the evaluation of a DCE. A range of 85.0%-93.3% of respondents stated they could adequately evaluate the DCE using the Survey unique to their rater group and reported a range of 13.0-15.9 minutes to complete the Survey. This project used a systematic process to develop a comprehensive set of Surveys for use in physical therapy academic programs. The Surveys solicit 360-degree performance feedback on the role of the DCE from the program director, DCE, clinical education faculty (clinical instructors, center coordinators of clinical education), academic faculty, and students. Data obtained may be useful to DCEs in professional and program development, workload allocation, promotion and tenure applications, and accreditation reports.