Director of Clinical Education, Doctor of Physical Therapy

1. Earned terminal academic doctorate in a discipline appropriate for teaching responsibilities,  

OR 

Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (or tDPT) with preferred ABPTS 

specialization in a discipline appropriate for teaching responsibilities or certification credentials appropriate for his/her teaching responsibilities; 2. Understanding of higher education and contemporary clinical practice appropriate for leadership in physical therapy clinical education; 

2. Knowledge of legislative, regulatory, legal, and practice issues affecting clinical education, students, and the profession of physical therapy; 

3. Licensed or eligible for licensure in Colorado or the state of residence; 5. Active in clinical practice, especially as applicable to clinical education; 6. Active in professional activities at local, state, and/or national levels; 7. Experience consistent with Augustana University System for Faculty Rank. 

The 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. This individual demonstrates competence in clinical education, teaching, and curriculum development. In addition, the DCE primary responsibilities are to plan, coordinate, facilitate, administer, and monitor activities on behalf of the academic program and in coordination with academic and clinical faculty. These activities include but are not limited to the following: 

• 1. Developing, monitoring, and refining the clinical education component of the curriculum; 
• 2. Facilitating quality learning experiences for students during clinical education; 3. Evaluating students' performance, in cooperation with other faculty, to determine their ability to integrate didactic and clinical learning experiences to progress within the curriculum; 
• 4. Educating students, clinical and academic faculty about clinical education; 5. Selecting clinical learning environments that demonstrate characteristics of sound patient/client management, ethical and professional behavior, and currency with physical therapy practice;
• 6. Maximizing available resources for the clinical education program; 7. Providing documented records and assessment of the clinical education component 

• (includes clinical education sites, clinical educators, etc.); 

• 8. Actively engaging core faculty clinical education planning, implementation, and assessment. 

The DCE serves as a liaison between the physical therapy program and the clinical education site as part of his/her responsibilities. The DCE, in cooperation with other academic faculty, establishes clinical education site and facility standards, selects and evaluates clinical education sites, and facilitates ongoing development of and communication with clinical education sites and clinical faculty. 

A. Administrative Responsibilities 

1. Communicate Between Augustana University, the DPT Program, and Affiliated Clinical Education Sites: 

i. Communicate news and current information among all concerned stakeholders to maintain current knowledge of the educational program, the clinical education site, and health care changes affecting clinical practice and education; 

ii. Provide ongoing communication with clinical educators at each clinical education site to include: 

i. Philosophy of the academic program; 

ii. Academic program curriculum and specific syllabus and learning objectives for each clinical experience and behavioral expectations that may not be addressed by learning objectives; 

iii. Policy and procedures of the academic program pertaining to clinical education; iv. Current materials required for accreditation; 

v. Clinical education contractual agreement negotiated and maintained between the academic program and each clinical education site; 

vi. Dissemination of appropriate student and related information (e.g., health insurance, liability/malpractice insurance, state/federal laws and regulations such as ADA); 

vii. Collection of information about clinical education sites for use by students in their selection of or assignment to clinical education sites; viii. Provision of dates for each clinical education experience; 

ix. Academic program requests from clinical education sites regarding the number and type of available student clinical placements; 

x. Coordinating student assignments (consideration might be given to items such as patient variety, health care settings and size, types of learning experiences, clinical site and student expectations, 

strengths/limitations of clinical experiences);

xi. Clinical faculty development opportunities including educational seminars and faculty availability as a resource in their areas of 

expertise, and; 

xii. Maintenance and distribution of a clinical education manual. d. Communicate and oversee communication with CCCEs, clinical faculty, and students to monitor progress and assess student performance. Provide guidance and support as required to problem solve and discuss pertinent issues with student(s), clinical faculty, and/or CCCEs; 

e. Place, supervise, and communicate with students while on clinical experiences. Responsibilities associated with these roles include, but are not limited to: 

i. Informing students of clinical education policies and procedures; ii. Supplying relevant clinical education site information to facilitate  students' selection of or assignment to clinical education sites (e.g., learning experiences, clinical site prerequisites, housing availability); iii. Providing a process for students to assess their performance and satisfaction; 

iv. Preparing clinical rotation assignment schedules and coordinating information dissemination to clinical education sites; 

v. Assisting with educational planning, behavior/performance modification, remedial education, referral to student support 

agencies (financial aid counseling as required), and; 

vi. Arranging for periodic and or impromptu visits/communication to students, clinical education sites and clinical faculty as needed to problem solve, support, and discuss pertinent issues with student(s), clinical faculty, and/or CCCEs; 

f. Evaluate each clinical education site through student feedback, on-site visits, and ongoing communications and routinely shares this information with academic and clinical faculties. Provide feedback to clinical educators concerning their effectiveness in delivering clinical learning experiences based on student feedback and through direct observations. 

2. Clinical Education Program Planning, Implementation, and Assessment a. Perform academic responsibilities consistent with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), and with institutional policy; 

i. Coordinate and teach clinical education courses and other related course content based on areas of content and clinical expertise; 

ii. Direct effort and attention to teaching and learning processes used throughout the curriculum (e.g., management and education theory, adult learning); 

iii. Monitor and document the academic performance of students to ensure that they successfully achieve the criteria for completing clinical learning experiences; 

b. Provide direct input into curriculum design, review, and revision processes by:

i. Collecting and organizing pertinent information from clinical education sites and students and disseminating this information to faculty during curricular review processes in a timely manner; 

ii. Preparing reports and/or engaging in discussions with faculty on student progress in clinical education; 

iii. Keeping faculty informed about the clinical education program, pertinent policies and procedures, and changes influenced by accreditation; 

c. Monitor the changing health care delivery system and advise the Program Director and faculty of changing trends and potential impact on clinical education instruction, curriculum design, and resource requirements; 

d. Participate in regional, state, and/or national clinical education forums, clinical education related activities, and programs designed to foster clinical education (e.g., Clinical Education Consortia, Clinical Education Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Section for Education, Chapter Clinical Education SIGs, and APTA Education Academy activities 

e. Administer a system for the academic program's clinical education records which include: 

i. Current database of clinical education sites; 

ii. Current information on clinical education site and clinical faculty; iii. Status of negotiated clinical education agreement between the academic program and clinical education site; 

iv. Utilization of clinical education sites; 

v. Reports on the performance of students in clinical education, and; 

vi. Reports on clinical site/faculty performance in clinical 

education; 

f. Act as an intermediary among the appropriate parties to: 

i. Facilitate the acquisition of clinical education agreements; ii. Administer policies and procedures for immunization, preventive health care practices, and for management of student injury while at clinical sites, and; 

iii. Ensure liability protection of students (and faculty if required) inclusive of professional, governmental, institutional, and current risk management principles; 

g. Assist the Program Director in the development of a program budget by providing input on items related to the clinical education program and overall program budget; 

h. Manage fiscal allocations budgeted for clinical education; i. Develop, implement, and monitor adherence to policy and procedures for the clinical education component of the curriculum; 

j. Develop, administer, and monitor the academic program's evaluation process for the clinical education component, including instruments used for evaluation of student performance, clinical education sites and faculty;

k. Participate in the preparation of accreditation documentation and outcome performance assessment of students in the physical therapy program; l. Ensure all program policies, procedures and practices under the responsibility of the DCE provide for compliance with accreditation policies and procedures. 

3. Clinical Site Development 

a. Develop criteria and procedures for clinical site selection, utilization, and assessment (e.g., APTA Guidelines for Clinical Education); 

b. Establish, develop, and maintain an adequate number of clinical education sites relative to quality, quantity and diversity of learning experiences (i.e., continuum of care, commonly seen diagnoses, across the lifespan, health care delivery systems, payers, cultural competence issues) to meet the educational needs of students and the academic program, the philosophy and outcomes of the program, and evaluative criteria set by CAPTE; 

c. Provide clinical education site development opportunities through ongoing evaluation and assessment of strengths and areas needing further 

development or action (e.g., in service training, discontinue student placements). 

4. Clinical Faculty Development 

a. Collaborate with clinical faculty to promote, coordinate, plan, and provide clinical faculty development opportunities using effective instructional methodologies and technologies; 

b. Encourage clinical faculty to participate in local, statewide, and national forums designed to foster and discuss issues addressing clinical education; c. Maintain knowledge of current trends in health care and its effect on clinical education and apprises clinical educators and faculty of any changing trends; 

d. Mentor other academic faculty about their role and responsibilities related to clinical education (e.g., clinical site visits, determining readiness for the clinic). 

B. Teaching and Education Responsibilities: Teach courses as agreed upon with the Program Director. 

C. Service Responsibilities: Refer to appropriate faculty rank within the Augustana University Faculty Manual. 

D. Scholarship Responsibilities: Refer to appropriate faculty rank within the Augustana University Faculty Manual. 

E. Professional Development Responsibilities: Refer to appropriate faculty rank within the Augustana University Faculty Manual.