Clinical Education

We gathered at CSM, energized and inspired by the conversations and connections with so many across the clinical education community. Those discussions reaffirmed the passion and dedication we all share—and the important work ahead.

The work of the CE Commission continues to move forward. Task force proposals are progressing, and workgroups are actively taking shape. One workgroup is developing a clinical education awards repository to collect and highlight local, regional, and national awards, aimed at better recognizing excellence across the profession. Another is creating a CE reactor panel—a quick-response group designed to help the Commission stay connected to emerging needs while bringing forward diverse perspectives from clinical educators in real time. A third is assessing and advancing the Excellence Framework, ensuring it is not only better utilized but also practically applicable to the clinical education community.

Learn more about the ACAPT Clinical Education (CE) Commission.

Email clinicaleducation@acapt.org with any questions.

Create a free online profile to stay informed and indicate your interest in clinical education updates.

The CE Commission is always eager to hear from you. We encourage you to join our quarterly listening sessions. The dates for 2025 are March 19, May 21, August 20, and November 19—all from 6:30 to 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

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Clinical education glossary

ACAPT and the APTA Academy of Education worked collaboratively to develop an online glossary of physical therapy clinical education terms for both PTs and physical therapist assistants (PTAs).

Bookmark and share PTclinedterms.org with your academic-clinical partners!
Clinical performance assessment
Physical Therapist Manual for the Assessment of Clinical Skills (PT MACS)
Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) - tool provided by American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
APTA has a Clinical Education Community Hub with ongoing updates that clinical educators may join by emailing cpi2023@apta.org with the subject line: "Hub access" and providing your APTA member number.
Excellence & best practices for PT clinical education
Best practice for physical therapist clinical education - 2017 APTA report

ACAPT Excellence Framework for academic physical therapy (including clinical education)

A Vision for Excellence in Physical Therapy Education

ACAPT Center for Excellence Institutional Profile Survey results, including clinical education practices

National study of excellence and innovation in physical therapist education:
- Part 1 - Design, method & results
- Part 2 - A call to reform
Evidence-based benefits of clinical education from ASAHP
Placement process
- Feedback on the Placement Process Task Force recommendations and next steps discussion from NCCE’s open forum at CSM 2021
- Clinical Education Placement Process Task Force Final Report – ACAPT/NCCE - October 2020
- Collaborative scheduling process for PT clinical education placements - for IACCC facilities from Intercollegiate Academic Clinical Coordinators Council - ELC NCCE 2020
Integrated clinical education (ICE)
- Integrated clinical education (ICE) definition (2017)
- Eight parameters of baseline expectation for integrated clinical education (ICE) (2019)
- Fostering student professional skills by implementing an early part-time ICE (2022)
Student readiness for clinical experiences
- Student anxiety in the clinic: What to know & how to build resiliency - from New England Consortium of CEs (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- Student data form - from New England Consortium of CEs (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- Student readiness to enter and progress through clinical education: KSAs and levels of competency for considering student readiness (2019)
Clinical education regional networking
Regional Clinical Education Consortia
- PT clinical education regional contacts & websites
- Learn more about ACAPT's Clinical Education (CE) Regional Roadshows
Relevant publications
- Perspective in physical therapy education: creating a communication network to connect clinical education stakeholders - 2020
- Collaborations in clinical education: Coordinating top-down and bottom-up efforts to advance best practices in PT education - 2018
Below are reports and presentations from past Educational Leadership Conference (ELC) Regional Networking Sessions:
- Expanding our mindset: rethinking clinical education from the student perspective - 2023 regional networking powerpoint
- How sharing data can help us all strive for clinical education excellence - 2022 PDF report
- Striving for excellence - 2022 Powerpoint
- Networking for excellence across the learning continuum - 2021 Powerpoint
- Exploring development of a clinical education resource hub - 2020 Powerpoint & report about a clinical education resource hub discussion/survey
- Sharing ideas for development of a clinical education communication network - 2019 Powerpoint
- Effectiveness of local, regional and national clinical education communications - 2018 Powerpoint
- Effectiveness of local, regional and national clinical education communications - 2018 report
- Perceptions about variation and capacity - 2017 Powerpoint
- Structure, processes and outcomes of regional consortia - 2016 report
ACAPT Clinical Education Summit Final Report - March 2021

ACAPT Clinical Education Summit Report - Final Report March 2021
Pre-admission observation hours
- ACAPT member-approved motion: Clarity of observation hours in the admission process - October 2021
- Applicant guide for observation hours - January 2022
- Clinical site guide for observation hours - January 2022
- 2022 ACAPT Pre-Admission Observation Hour Task Force Report - December 2022
- ELP Pre-Admission Observation Hour Task Force Report - October 2021
- Pre-admission observation hours - NCCE final report, December 2020
Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP)
Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP) from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
- Level 1 course
- Level 2 course
- Sponsoring a course
- CCIP Booster Module 1: Using objectives to focus student learning
- CCIP Booster Module 2: Using feedback in clinical education
- CCIP Booster Module 3: Developing student professional behaviors
- CCIP Booster Module 4: Managing the exceptional student
Payment for clinical sites
Interprofessional (IPE) practice in clinical education

Addressing interprofessional (IPE) practice in clinical education - March 2022
Mental health
- Mindful clinical mentoring - a course created by clinical professors with first-hand experience
- Student anxiety in the clinic: What to know and how to build resiliency
- A mindfulness workshop for health science graduate students: Preliminary evidence for lasting impact on clinical performance
- Physical therapists' perceptions of mindfulness for stress reduction: An exploratory study
- Failure in clinical education: Using mindfulness as a conceptual framework to explore the lived experiences of 8 physical therapists
- Uncovering a curricular model of self-are in pediatric PT education
- See more resources here.
Facilitating clinical reasoning during clin ed

Facilitating clinical reasoning through alternative learning experiences in clinical education - April 2021 webinar video

Patient case worksheet & PPT discussing the worksheet

Diagnostic clinical reasoning worksheet & PPT discussing worksheet

Clinical reasoning of expert vs novice PT clinicians in an outpatient orthopedic setting

Critical thinking vs. clinical reasoning video
Simulation

Acute care simulation activities - July 2021 NCCE resource-sharing webinar recording

More simulation resources
Clinical educator development
Career planning
CI training
- Clinical instructor training modules - from New York/New Jersey PT Clinical Education (CE) Consortium (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- Clinical instructor certification course document - from Texas CE Consortium (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- Collaborative model of clinical education recommendations - from Northern Plains CE Consortium (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- Collaborative clinical education: Success in the 2:1 model recorded webinar (2020)
- Using clinical-academic partnerships to develop CI training
- Physical Therapist Manual for the Assessment of Clinical Skills (PT MACS)
CI training handbooks & best practices
- Collaborative model of clinical education toolkit and resource handbook (2020)
- Site Coordinator of Clinical Education (SCCE – formerly CCCE) reference manual (2018)
- Best practices for physical therapist clinical education (2017)
Clinical instructor (CI) awards
- CI & facility of the year awards - from Carolina CE Consortium (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- PT & PTA outstanding CI award nomination form - from Florida CE Consortium (shared at ELC NCCE networking 2020)
- APTA outstanding clinical instructor award
- APTA outstanding SCCE award
ACAPT reports
- Final report and recommendations from the Task Force on Clinician Engagement in Academic Physical Therapy (2024)
- Final report summary from the Task Force on Clinical Education Placement Capacity and Process Innovation (2024)
- ACAPT Clinical Education Summit Report - Final Report (March 2021)
- ACAPT Clinical Education Summit Report (2020)
- ACAPT Final Report from: Common Terminology Panel, Integrated Clinical Education Panel & Student Readiness Panel (2017)
- ACAPT Clinical Education Summit Report and Recommendations (2014)
Master adaptive framework in residency & clin ed

Intentional infusion of the master adaptive framework in residency and clinical education (2022)
Other resources
- APTA Academy of Education Clinical Education Special Interest Group (CE SIG)
- APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP)
- APTA ACCE/DCE Performance Assessments
- Journal of Clinical Education in PT
- Pediatric Clinical Instructor Toolkit from the Academy of Pediatric PT
- Reintegrating students into clinical settings - May 2020 recorded webinar from ASAHP
- Telehealth clinical education considerations - May 2020 recorded webinar from INPTRA

Clinical Education

Learn more about the ACAPT Clinical Education (CE) Commission.

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