Slot Requests

Every year between March 1 – 15, academic programs will mail a request for student clinical education opportunities for the following calendar year. This mailing date is recognized to be the standardized nationwide “Voluntary Uniform Mailing Date” as determined by the Clinical Education Special Interest Group of the Education Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (1998, 2012). These dates were selected to condense the process for Site Coordinators of Clinical Education (SCCE’s). These voluntary guidelines also stipulate a requested response date from the clinics to the academic programs of April 30th. If you receive requests prior to March 1, please retain them until all requests have been received and opportunities for all academic programs can be considered together.

Each academic program’s request form is unique but should, at a minimum, include the dates, level of student and preferred practice settings for each clinical experience. Please complete and return each academic program’s form as soon as you are able, preferably on or before April 30th. If you are unable to offer a clinical experience opportunity to a particular academic program, it is best practice to return the request form stating that you are unable to accommodate that program’s students Clinical Site Information Form (CSIF).

Each site is asked to complete the APTA’s Clinical Site Information Form (CSIF). This form may be completed as a word document or online through CSIF Web. This form contains vital information about your clinical site including contact information, student requirements, staff demographics and patient population to name a few. Information from the CSIF helps academic programs and students alike to be informed and knowledgeable about what your site has to offer and placing students who are a best fit. It is recommended that you update your CSIF annually.Some sites have chosen to have students assist in this process by completing the site’s CSIF as one of their projects during a clinical experience.

Onboarding Students To The Clinical Site

Many sites send orientation materials to students prior to starting their experience, which students often find helpful. You may choose to develop a formal Clinical Education Manual for students affiliating at your site to serve as a resource/guideline for student orientation.

The NYNJ Consortium has composed a sample table of contents which you can download here, materials may include:

• Introduction and contact information
• Policies and procedures
• Documentation and Facility Forms
• Clinical Protocols and Treatment Guidelines
• Assessment of Learning Style
• Learning Opportunities Available to the Student
• InService and Project Requirements or Suggestions
• Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI)

On Day 1: The SCCE should greet students and describe their role as SCCE as it relates to the student’s experience.

Make students comfortable with their surroundings and feel like they are part of the team. It may be helpful to introduce your new student to other students who are already affiliating at your site as they may be helpful in the orientation process.

During their orientation, the following should be discussed:

1. Overview of the facility: point out resources available to student including work spaces, library, access to technology, cafeteria, etc. Tailor this to the student needs.
2. Tour of the facility: the department, work spaces, places to store personal belongings, fire exits, bathrooms, discuss food /lunch options, parking, etc. A map may be appropriate for larger sites.

Clinical site expectations: This may include:

• Student’s schedule
• Homework
• In-service
• Written requirements for projects/case studies
• Learning objectives
• Regular meetings they will need to attend.

Forms which may need to be completed by the students: some sites have students evaluate their program, facility, CI, etc. Now is a good time to let students know what is expected.

Safety procedures: Review exit routes for emergency, emergency codes, student’s role in emergency, relevant phone numbers, National patient safety goals, joint commission, etc. Also discuss incident reports- what constitutes an incident and how to document.

Policies and procedures: dress code, attendance, lateness, organization specific policies and procedures. Some sites require that a student reads and ‘signs-off’ on a policies and procedures manual.

Communication with the DCE

The Director of Clinical Education (DCE) at the school is your resource. You should feel free to call or e-mail a DCE if you have any questions. Nothing is too little or silly to want to know as you plan your student’s learning experience. Your DCE is there to help.

Here are some common reasons to call the DCE:

Before the Clinical Experience:
If the student’s information packet has not arrived 6 weeks prior to the start date, contact the DCE.
If you have not heard from the student at least 2 weeks prior to the start date or far enough in advance for the student to complete your facility’s clearance requirements, contact the DCE.

Day 1 of the Clinical Experience:
If the student does not arrive, contact DCE immediately – do not hesitate!
If the student did not complete all required facility clearance requirements to begin on time, contact the school immediately to discuss a delay in the experience.
If the student is not prepared based upon your prior communication and expectations, contact the DCE. This may include medical information, etc…

Student Performance and Behavior Throughout the Experience:
During the experience you should contact the DCE even if you have the slightest concern about the student’s behavior or performance. Do not wait for a problem to occur. It is better to call just to touch base and get some advice than let something go too long to positively intervene.

Reasons to contact DCE throughout the experience may include:

• Professionalism Concerns including (but not limited to): frequent tardiness, inappropriate dress, poor hygiene, inappropriate communication skills (verbal or nonverbal) with patients or staff, defensiveness, not acting on feedback
• Safety Concerns
• Significant Concerns on the PT CPI. These include:
  • Performance concern(s)
  • Unsafe event(s)
  • Incident(s) to be recorded
• Significant Concerns on the CIET include: any areas of concern in the Professional Behavior categories i.e. the student is scoring Never,
  • Rarely or Sometimes in any of these categories.
  • Safety
  • Professional Ethics
  • Initiative
  • Communication
• Administrative Issues: You may have other questions for the DCE regarding:
  • The program’s curriculum
  • The program’s absence policy
  • Questions about any other policies and procedures, benchmarks

PT Clinical Performance Instrument or CIET
The DCE will do their best to help you if you have questions regarding the assessment tools
Please remember to contact the DCE in advance to share the CI’s name and email with the DCE in order to set up CPI, or you can add CIs to your site yourself in the CPI.

Multi-Site SCCEs

Tips for Larger Organizations

Utilize your organizations larger workforce to ease the student process- make it a team approach
Consider having multiple SCCE’s to better handle student volume or when managing different states/regions
Standardize as much as possible- the more unified your messaging and training, the easier it can be disseminated throughout your organization
Regular trainings- be proactive- schedule CI trainings well in advance and run multiple trainings per year
Don’t be afraid to delegate- a well constructed program should allow for collaboration- also allows others in your organization to fulfill a passion or enter into a leadership role
Site visits/Check ins- work in site visits when possible- still good to remain connected to your CI’s and students

Utilizing the Organization
HR – Can ease onboarding by managing students organization specific onboarding documents such as
HIPAA Release – Organization specific code of conduct
Dress code
EMR information

Co-SCCE’s
Larger organizations may need multiple SCCE’s working together or in a hierarchy

Multi-state clinics
Ideal to have a SCCE with specific knowledge on a states specific practice act and how it impacts students
State or region specific SCCE’s also can form a more robust relationship with local academic programs
Multiple SCCE’s will also decrease response times and will open availability to address potential issues.
If working as a team- consider having an email group to ensure workflows are being addressed
I.e. “NY/NJ Clinical Education Team”

Clinical Directors/Regional Directors
Clinical Directors and Regional Directors are your eyes and ears in the clinic
They can be utilized to ensure quality assurance in terms of clinical teaching from your CI and identify issues immediately
Training CD’s and RD’s in SCCE basics will also ensure consistency across your organization

Quality Assurance
Use your CD’s, RD’s and other SCCE’s to administer quality assurance measures
Student feedback on CI’s
Student surveys on CI performance
Spot check clinics in person when possible

Exxat

Exxat One is a collaborative platform that is meant to link students, academic institutions and clinical sites
Exxat One can be used as a standalone resource for clinical placements or can be used in conjunction with the March 1 Mailer
For Students: Students can search Exxat One for specific placements based on location, availability and specialty. They can also track placements and onboarding tasks for individual clinical sites
For Faculty: Availability for clinical placements can be seen on the Exxat One platform for specific clinical sites. Faculty can manage placement requests, track compliance tasks on the platform
For Clinical Sites: Simplify placement management by publishing opportunities and tracking school requests. One central platform to update locations, specialties, and availability
Academic institutions reach out to the sites Exxat One platform vs. the clinical site responding to all March 1 Mailer requests separately
Stay organized with student onboarding and affiliation agreements
Payment: There is small (~$20) fee per placement for the student. The academic institution, student or clinical site can absorb this cost.

Tips for using Exxat One Successfully

• Communicate with your DCE’s to inform them you have switched to the platform, this avoids them sending out their March 1 Mailer
• Consider a hybrid model
• Clinical sites do still have the ability to respond to
• March 1 Mailer requests
• Keep a spreadsheet
• Errors happen and having a backup document is helpful for your clinical site and your clinical partners
• Be clear with your placements
• Ensure locations have the appropriate specialties selected
• If there is a specific specialty be sure to make a clear note of it