Clinical Mentorship: Teaching and Learning Strategies in Clinical Practice
About the Course:
The purpose of this intermediate-level course is to provide foundational concepts of effective clinical teaching and learning, including teaching strategies and student assessment in the clinical education environment for physical therapists. To become an effective teacher in a complex and uncertain environment such as clinical practice, one needs to demonstrate essential teaching principles, adapt to the learning needs of the student to facilitate learning, and assess the learner’s (student or new professional) knowledge, skills, and abilities to determine readiness to enter clinical practice. Upon completion of this course, the participant will gain exposure to effective teaching tools to use in the clinical setting, strategies to facilitate the clinical reasoning process of the student, and assessment of student learning during the clinical experience. This course is recommended for clinical instructors in physical therapist or physical therapist assistant.
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the importance of and preparation for teaching in the clinical setting for the health professions.
- Identify skills to prepare a clinical instructor or mentor for teaching in clinical practice or the workplace.
- Explain how to determine the readiness of a learner in the clinical setting, and assess the learner’s growth, and make an educational diagnosis.
- Identify characteristics of effective clinical educators and mentors to improve learning in the clinical setting.
- Compare and contrast clinical reasoning strategies to use in the clinical education environment.
- Discuss effective learner assessment strategies to determine competence in the clinical setting and workplace.
About the Author:
Jennifer Furze, PT, DPT, is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Physical Therapy at Creighton University. She is a board certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy and the coordinator of the Creighton University Pediatric Physical Therapy Residency program. Nationally, she served on the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Pediatric Specialty Council and as chair of the Academic and Clinical Education Special Interest Group of the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy. She teaches in the pediatric area of a systems-based lifespan curriculum. Her published educational research centers around clinical reasoning, effective teaching methods, and pediatric physical therapy education. She was a recent recipient of the Stanford Award for the most influential publication in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education. Dr. Furze is clinically active and has been teaching students in the didactic and clinical curriculum for 18 years. She earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Scranton and her doctor of physical therapy degree from Creighton University.