In fall 2022, the ACAPT Board of Directors announced a new, more
streamlined organizational structure designed to infuse the Criteria of Excellence & Excellence Framework into the organization’s daily operations, governance, mission and vision. This restructuring transitioned ACAPT’s work from
its original nine consortia, including the National Consortium of Clinical Educators (NCCE), to four newly established, integrated and collaborative Institutes.
The ACAPT Board, in consultation with consortia leaders, identified the need for a new entity that would maintain the voice and engagement of the clinical education community after the sunsetting of the NCCE. The Clinical Education Commission was proposed as part of the reorganization plan and approved by the ACAPT Board in August of 2022. The following outlines the responsibilities and structure of this Commission.
Questions? Email clinicaleducation@acapt.org.
CE Commission leadership
- Chair Matt Calendrillo, PT, DPT, BOCOP - LIVE EVERY DAY/Springfield College
- Vice Chair (Internal) Katherine Myers, PT, PhD - Duke University
- Vice Chair (External) Janette Scardillo, PT, DPT - University of Scranton
- Secretary Arvie Vitente, PT, DPT, PhD, MPH, GCS, FNAP, CEEAA - Lewis University
Commissioners:
- Kelly Meyers, PT, DPT, CSCS - Upstate University Hospital/SUNY Upstate Medical University
- Paul D. Smith, PT, DPT - Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno
- Jennifer Logan, PT, DPT, NCS - University of Colorado hospital
- Carla Huggins, PT, DPT - Georgia State University
- Tara Paradie, PT, MSPT, DHCs - University of New England
Purpose
To support the mission of ACAPT to create a shared culture of excellence in physical therapist clinical education to improve societal health by:
- Identifying and prioritizing academic PT needs related to clinical education through cooperative efforts of academic and clinical partners.
- Serving as the principal advisory voices for PT clinical education to ACAPT.
- Guiding ACAPT in developing effective initiatives to support member institutions with efforts to promote excellence in PT clinical education.
- Creating an environment for equitable engagement and collaboration among academic institutions and clinical educators in physical therapy education.
- Ensuring dissemination of best practices related to excellence in PT clinical education.
Objectives
As a champion of excellence and an agent of change within academic physical therapy, the Commission will:
- Assist ACAPT in developing partnerships and expanding its member directory to promote inclusion of and communication with all academic programs and clinical education sites.
- Foster active engagement and networking of clinical educators from across the nation to gather feedback, assess needs of the clinical education community and share best practice resources.
- Strengthen partnerships among academic and clinical communities to develop and implement strategies for achieving excellence in academic physical therapy.
- Build upon the established national, regional and local clinical education network structure.
- Collaborate with ACAPT leadership on the development and oversight of initiatives related to PT clinical education.
- Facilitate excellence in clinical education through collaboration with internal (i.e.: ACAPT Institutes, Task Forces, etc.) and external (i.e.: Academy of Education SIGs, regional consortia, etc.) stakeholders.
- Expand the influence of the clinical education community within academic physical therapy.
- Disseminate resources and innovations to promote excellence in PT clinical education.
- Cultivate a culture of excellence by encouraging all clinical educators to engage in research, participate in ongoing assessment, share data/data sources and use data to inform decision-making and practice.
Ongoing responsibilities
To meet its purpose and objectives, the Commission will:
- Meet regularly via conference calls to review tasks completed and next steps to meet deadlines and objectives.
- Communicate and collaborate with ACAPT Board, staff, committees, Institutes, Task Forces and membership to assess needs of the clinical education community and provide recommendations for ongoing and future work.
- Communicate with external stakeholders (ie: Academy of Education SIGs, regional consortia, etc.) to facilitate collaborative work with the Commission or other appropriate Institutes/Task Forces.
- Develop and promote networking activities among local, regional and national clinical education stakeholders.
Composition
The Commission shall be comprised of the following:
- Chair, two Vice Chairs, Secretary, and 5 Commissioners (9 members)
- Executive committee shall be composed of the Chair, two Vice Chairs and Secretary
- A diverse representation of clinical education stakeholders to include a balanced representation of academic and clinical commissioners
- Required representation includes:
- At least one DCE who is a member in good standing of ACAPT
- At least one SCCE or CI whose clinical education site is a member affiliate of ACAPT
- Recommended representation includes:
- A clinical education site administrator (ie: owner, manager, team leader, etc.) whose clinical education site is a member affiliate of ACAPT
- An academic program administrator (ie: program chair, director, dean, etc.) who is a member in good standing of ACAPT
- A non-physical therapy professional involved in a role associated with clinical education (ie: OT fieldwork educator, nurse preceptor, etc.)
Member Responsibilities
Chair will represent the Commission and be responsible for:
- Ensuring the Commission is meeting its purpose and objectives and that all activities are in alignment with ACAPT’s strategic plan.
- Providing progress reports to the Board at least bi-annually and attending Board meetings.
- Advising the ACAPT Board on matters related to clinical education.
- Coordinating and collaborating with external clinical education stakeholders including Academy of Education SIGs and regional clinical education consortia.
- Providing consultation to Institute and Task Force leadership related to clinical education initiatives, as needed.
- Collaboratively assessing outcomes of clinical education initiatives and identifying issues or opportunities needing addressed.
Vice Chair of External Affairs will be responsible for:
- Developing and overseeing networking activities for members and other external clinical education stakeholders (ie: Roadshow, regional consortia networking sessions, etc.)
- Fostering and expanding clinical partner engagement with ACAPT.
- Promoting data sharing and data-driven decision making throughout the entire clinical education community.
- Overseeing deliverables for membership and the broader clinical education community including webinars, website resources, networking activities, etc.
Vice Chair of Internal Affairs will be responsible for:
- Assuming the duties of the Chair at the request of the Chair or in his/her absence.
- Preparing an annual budget submitted to the ACAPT Finance Committee and approved by the Board.
- Ensuring responsible stewardship of the resources provided to the Commission.
- Maintaining communication with commissions and institutes.
Secretary will be responsible for:
- Polling for meetings, developing agendas in concert with the Co-Chairs, taking minutes at all meetings and circulating to the members of the Commission for approval.
- Disseminating communications to membership through collaboration with ACAPT’s Communication and Data Strategist to coordinate content and timing of messaging.
- Supporting the coordination of Commission meetings and/or programming at ELC and CSM.
Commissioners will be responsible for:
- Actively participating in regularly scheduled Commission meetings.
- Serving as the principal advisory voice for the Commission’s executive committee.
- Assisting with Commission networking activities for ACAPT members and other clinical education stakeholders.
- Promoting opportunities for clinical educator engagement through elected and appointed positions in ACAPT.
- All nine Commission members will be responsible for:
- Communicating with ACAPT members in their assigned region and assisting their ACAPT regional liaison with town hall meetings.
Appointment
Members of the Commission will be appointed by the Board of Directors. A call for volunteers will be circulated to all ACAPT members. The sitting Commissioners will review volunteer candidates and provide recommendations to the Board. The Board
will evaluate candidates based on experience and skillsets identified relative to the charge and needs of the Commission as well as the recommendations from the Commission. Only those volunteers who have consented to serve, shall be eligible
for appointment.
Learn more about the roles, rights and responsibilities of representatives by reviewing our bylaws and standing rules.
Terms
- Inaugural members will have staggered terms between two to three years. All will eventually have three-year terms. Inaugural members will have the following staggered terms:
- 3 year terms (Oct 2023 - Oct 2026): Chair, Vice Chair of External Affairs, 2 Commissioners
- 2 year terms (Oct 2023 - Oct 2025): Secretary, Vice Chair of Internal Affairs, 3 Commissioners
- After the initial formation, members of the Commission shall assume office at the conclusion of the annual ACAPT Annual Business Meeting at the Annual Physical Therapy Education Leadership Conference (ELC) in the year in which they are appointed.
- The term of office of each member of the Commission shall be for three years or until a successor is appointed by the Board, upon the recommendation of the Commission.
- No person shall serve more than two complete consecutive terms on the Commission. A member who has completed their term is eligible for re-appointment after taking off at least one year.
Vacancies
The Board of Directors shall fill any vacancy by appointing a person to serve for the remainder of the term. The appointed individual shall be eligible to be appointed to two additional terms if the first term is less than half a full term.
Guiding principles
Members of the Commission shall:
- Remain in compliance with ACAPT’s antitrust guidelines.
- Avoid any conflicts of interest and notify other members of the Commission should any conflicts develop.
- Not involve any commercial interests.
- Engage all stakeholders in academic physical therapy.
- Include activities that factor diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Be mindful of the impact on interprofessional and clinical education.
- Represent clinical education sites, and the individuals therein.
Resources
The following resources will be made available:
- Support of ACAPT Board of Directors and Staff.
- Use of ACAPT’s Basecamp for dialogue, document sharing, and project management.
- Use of ACAPT’s survey account.
- Dedicated funding within the ACAPT budget as determined by the Board of Directors.
- Additional resources as may be requested and upon approval of the Board of Directors.
Assignment
Applicants seeking appointment to the Commission will be asked to complete an assignment of copyright to ACAPT along with their consent to serve.