PT Clinical Education

Information for Clinical Instructors and Center Coordinators

We are very fortunate to have clinical instructors like you who share time, expertise, professional values and patients with our students in providing high quality clinical education! Thank you! Quality clinical education is critical to effectively preparing our students to become competent physical therapists. It is also a rewarding and exciting component of the curriculum!

The University of Utah Physical Therapy Program educates students to practice as "generalists" in the field. Clinical education serves to assist the integration of classroom work into clinical practice. The physical therapy students spend 45 weeks in full-time experiences designed to span a variety of practice settings and a wide-ranging patient population. In addition to 4 full-time experiences, students have the opportunity to complete part-time clinical experiences concurrent with didactic coursework. In these experiences, students practice knowledge and skills learned in preparation for full-time placements. Through clinical education, students develop safe, effective skills in all aspects of patient management, interpersonal relations, and professional conduct.

This Clinical Education website is dedicated to you, our clinical instructors. Use the links below to obtain the information and forms you need. Please take note of our CI/SCCE Affiliate Program! If you are unable to locate the information you want, or need further information, do not hesitate to contact us. Please let us know how we can further support you as clinical instructors and site coordinators!

Sample Site Objectives (pdf downloads):

• Acute Care
• Adult Outpatient
• Home Health
• Pediatrics
• Rehab-SNF-TCU-SubAcute

CI Resources for Teaching:

• Strategies for Facilitating Learning
• Strategies for Sharing Expectations
• Time Management Barriers & Strategies
• Writing Behavioral Objectives
• Developing an Action Plan
• Action Plan Form
• Levels of Supervision – Definitions
• Clinical Education Share Point Community (a place to discuss topics of concern, share resources, pose questions, and create partnerships through networking)
• Physical Therapist Clinical Education Principles
• Economic Models and Clinical Education Principles – Sessions from PT2010
• Student Physical Therapist Provision of Services
• Supervision under Medicare
• Supervision of Students under Medicare (Chart)
• Implementing MDS 3.0: Use of Therapy Students
• Use of students under Medicare Part B

Other Important Links:

• PT CPI Quick Training Guide
• CI Log-on Page for the PT CPI Online
• PT CPI Training Site
• APTA Clinical Site Information Form (CSIF) 
• APTA Guidelines & Assessments for Clinical Education
• APTA Clinical Educator Development
• APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP Level 1)
• APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP Level 2)
• APTA Professional Core Values
• APTA Professional Core Values Self-Assessment