The Effect of Clinical Education Models on Acute Care Physical Therapy Clinical Instructor Productivity

Introduction: There is a common perception that being a clinical instructor (CI) may decrease productivity, a common performance metric, for acute care physical therapists. Being a CI may be seen as a burden, so a 1:2 student to CI model has been implemented to share CI responsibilities and provide more diverse clinical experiences for the student. In this study, acute care physical therapist CI productivity in a 1:1 and a 1:2 student to CI model were compared with baseline productivity measures. This study aims to guide practical utilization of these models by identifying how they may affect CI productivity. Review of Literature: Research demonstrated that CI productivity in the acute care setting increased or did not change during a 1:1 clinical education model. No research was found for a 1:2 model. Subjects: All clinical experiences in an acute care hospital over 3 years were analyzed, including 20 1:1 clinical experiences, 26 first half 1:2 clinical experiences, and 24 second half 1:2 clinical experiences. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed CI productivity during 70 clinical experiences. Productivity as percentage of direct patient care time in billed units was recorded pre-, during-, and post-clinical experience. Data were compared across 1:1 and 1:2 clinical education models and stratified by student experience level. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate change. Results: No statistically significant difference in CI productivity was observed for either the 1:1 or 1:2 models. Pre-, during-, and post-clinical experience productivity remained consistent, with a non-significant trend toward decreased productivity post-clinical experience. Final clinical experiences were associated with slightly higher productivity during the clinical experience and a lesser decrease in productivity post-clinical experience for the CI. Discussion and Conclusion: Findings suggest that acute care physical therapist productivity is not significantly affected by clinical instruction, student experience level, or clinical education model. The 1:2 model offers an alternative to the 1:1 structure without negative impact on CI productivity.