PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN

PHYSICAL THERAPY
LECTURE NO.12
DR. Iman Zahra
The Physical Therapist as
Educator
 PHYSICAL THERAPY EDUCATION
• Education is the process of imparting information or skills
and instructing by precept, example, and experience so
that individuals acquire knowledge, master skills, or
develop competence.

• In addition to instructing patients/clients as an element of

intervention, physical therapists may engage in education
activities such as planning and conducting academic
education, clinical education, and continuing education
programs; planning and conducting educational programs
for local, state, and federal agencies; planning and
conducting programs for the public to increase awareness
of issues in which physical therapists have expertise.
 THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL THERAPY
EDUCATION
• In 1921 Mary McMillan wrote Massage and Therapeutic
Exercise, the first textbook on physical therapy
• she and Dr. Frank Granger, a physician with whom she had
worked in the reconstruction aide project, developed graduate
programs for PTs through the Harvard Graduate Medical
School.
• In 1929 the American Physiotherapy Association suggested a
curriculum to be used as a minimum standard for schools of
physiotherapy
• From 1957 to 1976, the American Physical Therapy Association
(APTA) collaborated with the AMA to approve physical therapy
education programs
 THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL THERAPY
EDUCATION
• In 1977 the APTA’S Commission on
Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
(CAPTE) became the recognized accrediting
body for physical therapy educational
programs.
• By January, 2003, the list of CAPTE-accredited
programs included 204 PT and 459 physical
therapist assistant (PTA) programs
 THE HISTORY OF PHYSICAL THERAPY
EDUCATION
• In January, 2002, CAPTE began accrediting
only programs that awarded post
baccalaureate degrees. With many programs
making the transition to the post
baccalaureate level,
• The APTA issued this new vision statement:
“By 2020, physical therapy will be provided by
physical therapists who are doctors of physical
therapy.”
 CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL ROLES OF
THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST
• PTs serve as educators at a variety of levels, from patient instruction
to teaching as tenured professors. Co-workers, physical therapy
students, and PTA students in both the classroom and clinical practice
• Teaching opportunities, therefore, can take a number of forms:
● Informal, short classes
● In-service courses for other staff members to update information or
provide training for specific skills
 Continuing education courses
● Clinical instruction (e.g., clinical instructor or center coordinator of
clinical education)
● Academic programs (e.g., adjunct faculty member, academic
coordinator of clinical education, or full-time tenure track faculty
member)
 Instruction of Patients
• Primary component
• It is the process of informing, teaching, or training patients (or
families and caregivers) in techniques that promote and
optimize physical therapy services
• Patient instruction may be integrated into a treatment session
or provided as a separate, formal intervention
• For example, during an exercise program, PTs may instruct the
patient in the principles of exercise, as well as the importance
of exercise to overall health, or devote an entire treatment
session to training a caregiver in home exercises and transfer
techniques or answering questions about a patient’s
condition.
 Teaching Roles Beyond Patient Care
• Many PTs are assigned or volunteer to make
presentations as part of their job responsibilities. Such a
teaching assignment may be a one-time only session, or
it might be a component of a continuing training
program. Examples of such presentations include
• In-service classes for physical therapy or other staff
members to present new information or update skill
• Public service presentations (e.g., making presentations
in public schools or to service-based organizations
about the physical therapy profession or movement
disorders)
 Teaching Opportunities in Clinical
Education
• Clinical faculty members, who train and
supervise students at clinical education sites,
typically work one-on-one with a PT or PTA
student.
• In physical therapy education, the two kinds of
clinical faculty members are the clinical
instructor (CI) and
• the center coordinator of clinical education
(CCCE).
 Clinical instructor
• CIs instruct and supervise students directly during clinical education.
• They are responsible for providing a sound clinical education and for
assessing students’ performance based on entry-level practice
expectations.
• After at least one year of work experience, a PT may volunteer to be
or may be recruited as a CI. The PT may prepare for this teaching role
(1) Informally under the guidance of a CCCE,
(2) Through self-study.
(3) Through a series of more formal training sessions in the clinical
center or affiliated physical therapy programs,
(4) Through certification programs offered by the APTA and many of
the regional consortiums of physical therapy educational programs.
 Centre coordinator of clinical education
(CCCE)
• In each center with a physical therapy clinical education
program, one person is assigned the role of CCCE
• He administers, manages, and coordinates the
assignment of CIs and the clinical learning activities of
students.
• The CCCE determines the readiness of PTs to serve as
CIs and supervises their clinical teaching, discusses
students’ clinical performance with academic faculty
members, and provides information about the center’s
clinical education programs to PT and PTA programs
• The Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI), which was developed by the
APTA as a means of evaluating student performance in clinical education

• It defines students capable of entry-level practice as “a student who

consistently and efficiently provides quality care with simple or complex
patients and in a variety of clinical environments.

• The student usually needs no guidance or supervision except when

addressing new or complex situations.

• As the student progresses through the clinical education program under

appropriate supervision and guidance, “the degree of monitoring or cueing
needed is expected to progress from full-time monitoring or cueing for
assistance to independent performance with consultation
 CRITERIA FOR CLINICAL PHYSICAL
THERAPY FACULTY
• The clinical education faculty demonstrates clinical expertise in their area
of practice and the capacity to perform as effective clinical teachers.

• They have the responsibility for education and supervision of students at

clinical education sites.

• Members of the clinical education faculty serve as role models for students
in scholarly and professional activities.

• Clinical education faculty must have a minimum of 1 year of professional

experience (2 years of clinical experience are preferred). Their continued
ability to perform as clinical education faculty is assessed based on the
individual’s prior performance as a clinical educator and on other criteria
established by the program.
 ACADEMIC COORDINATOR OF CLINICAL EDUCATION (ACCE) OR
DIRECTOROF CLINICAL EDUCATION
The ACCE/DCE holds a faculty (academic or clinical) appointment and has administrative, academic,
service, and scholarship responsibilities consistent with the mission and philosophy of the
academic program.
In addition, the ACCE/DCE has primary responsibility for the following activities:
● Developing, monitoring, and refining the clinical education component of the curriculum
● Facilitating quality learning experiences for students during clinical education
● Evaluating students’ performance, in cooperation with other faculty members, to determine the
students’ ability to integrate didactic and clinical learning experiences and to progress I the
curriculum
● Educating students and clinical and academic faculty members about clinical education
● Selecting clinical learning environments that demonstrate the characteristics of sound patient/client
management, ethical and professional behavior, and current physical therapy practice
● Maximizing available resources for the clinical education program
● Keeping records and providing assessments of the clinical education component (e.g., clinical
education sites and clinical educators)
● Engaging core faculty members in clinical education planning, implementation, and assessment
 Continuing Education
• An entrepreneurial PT can create a continuing education program, although this
requires skills beyond professional expertise. For each course offered, the following
components must be addressed:
● Target audience and marketing plan
● Clearly defined rationale and learning objectives
● Learning outcomes
● Instructional strategies
● Presentation format (seminar, distance learning, home study)
● Audiovisual or other technological expertise required to present content
● Length of course
● Determination of continuing education units to be awarded
● Approval of the course by the appropriate credentialing organization
● Plan for documentation of attendance and filing of permanent records
● Fee for the course based on expenses and profit
● Course evaluation method
Academic Teaching Opportunities
• PTs may maintain their clinical practice and
serve as guest lecturers in physical therapy
and PTA programs.
• Exploration
• Appreciation
• Less formal
• The most formal teaching opportunity for PTs
is a position as a full-time or part time
(adjunct) faculty member in a PT or PTA
curriculum.
• Faculty positions are based on the academic
triad of teaching, research, and service.
 Theories of teaching /learning

• The effectiveness of teaching is determined to some degree by

how well the teacher understands the ways in which people learn
• An important tool from the behaviorist approach that is useful for
all instruction is a taxonomy of educational objectives, based on
the early work of Benjamin Bloom
• Learning behaviors are classified into three domains:
1. The cognitive domain (recall and use of information)
2. The psychomotor domain (physical and manipulative skills)
3. The affective domain (interest, attitudes, and values)
 ABCD METHOD OF WRITING LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Each learning objective has four parts:
A—Audience (Who is the learner?)
B—Behavior (What will the learner be expected
to do?)
C—Condition (What are the conditions of the
action?)
D—Degree (How often will it be done?)
 Sample Learning Objectives
Cognitive domain
The student (A) will analyze the components of a postsurgical aquatic
exercise program (B) for an individual who has undergone repair of the
rotator cuff (C). The student will apply Archimedes’ principles with
occasional cues from the instructor (D)
Psychomotor domain
The student (A) will conduct a postsurgical aquatic exercise (B) for a
patient who has undergone repair of the rotator cuff (C)
independently (D).
Affective domain
The st udent (A) will discuss the comparative value of postsurgical
aquatic exercises (B) for a patient who has undergone repair of the
rotator cuff (C), using a variety of perspectives with no prompts for
inclusion of possible alternatives (D).
 APTA Code of Ethics and Guide for
Professional Conduct
• Principle 6 of the APTA Code of Ethics obligates
physical therapists to “maintain and promote high
standards for physical therapy practice, education
and research
• The ethical obligations of PTs involved in teaching or
continuing education are specifically addressed.
• PTs providing continuing education courses should
be competent in the content and should give
accurate information about the course in course
materials
 APTA Code of Ethics and Guide for
Professional Conduct
• A physical therapist shall evaluate the efficacy
and effectiveness of information and
techniques presented in continuing education
programs before integrating them into his/her
practice
 Continuing Competence
• The quality of continuing education and its
contribution to continuing competence are
issues of particular concern to state practice
boards, which are charged with protecting the
public from professional incompetence.
• By granting a license, the licensing board
signifies that it has determined the PT is
competent to practice
 Continuing Competence
• PTs who want to pursue professional development
by obtaining an academic position should consider
the following factors:
● Their level of self-confidence as an expert in some
area of physical therapy
● Their level of comfort with public speaking
● Their commitment to research and service as well as
teaching
● The importance of effective teaching and learning
strategies
THANKS