Doctor of Physical Therapy Writing and Using Objectives in Clinical Education Harriet Lewis, PT, MS Co Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education Assistant Clinical Professor

Objectives for this module At the end of this module, the participant will be able to: –Identify appropriate uses for objectives in clinical education –Write a behavioral objective that delineates the student’s progress through a clinical experience. –Use objectives to plan an effective learning experience. –Employ objectives to assess student learning

Introduction Big picture – how do things fit together Behavioral objectives are the building blocks for constructing a clinical education experience. Global objectives – outcomes, long term goals Weekly objectives – short term goals Learning experience objectives – daily treatment session goals

Use Behavioral Objectives to: Structure a clinical rotation Plan learning experiences Determine student progress or lack of progress

Behavioral Objectives Function like patient-centered goals. Describe the desired outcome after a period of instruction. Contain action verbs. Set the conditions for acceptable performance. Include a reasonable time frame. Focus on the learner, not the instructor.

Global Objectives These sample objectives (long-term goals) will work for any type of physical therapy service. At the conclusion of this clinical experience, the student will be able to: –Independently complete an initial examination of patients typically seen in this setting. –Critically analyze the results of the examination

Global Objectives (cont.) –Devise a safe and appropriate plan of care based on the patient’s needs and desires. –Safely manage a case load that is at least ___% of the case load of a staff therapist or new graduate at this site. –Produce correct and timely documentation that meets the requirements of the site. –Participate in the daily management of the physical therapy service as appropriate. –Establish professional relationships with patients, families and all healthcare team members.

Using Objectives to Structure a Clinical Experience Determine the goals for student clinical experiences for your site as a department Use the sample Global Objectives on the previous slides as a guide Determine your resources by looking at: –Patient experiences –Personnel –Equipment

Structuring a Clinical Experience Revise/edit the sample objectives to fit your facility Examine each objective. –Make judgments about where the student should be at the end of each week of a clinical experience –Write objectives (short term goals) for each week of the clinical experience that will assist the student to meet the global objectives. –Check each objective to be sure it is reasonable and measurable.

Utilizing Weekly Objectives Make use of your department’s weekly objectives to determine student progress through the clinical experience by judging student performance against each objective. Employ the weekly planning form to record student progress and delineate the objectives for the next week.

Using Weekly Objectives (cont) Base these objectives on your department plan and the student’s progress. Communicate and/or negotiate weekly objectives with the student

Examples of Weekly Objectives Global Objective #1 - At the conclusion of this clinical experience, the student will be able to independently complete an initial examination of patients typically seen in this setting. Week #1 Objective – Student will be able to complete an appropriate chart review independently.

Examples of Weekly Objectives Week #2 Objective – Student will be able to gather the subjective information including medical and social history. Week #3 Objective – Student will determine the appropriate tests and measures for a simple patient case AND Week #3 Objective – Student will be able to perform an appropriate patient examination.

Examples of Weekly Objectives Week #4 Objective – Student will accurately synthesize his/her findings into a physical therapy assessment/diagnosis. Week #5 Objective – Student will be able to write appropriate patient centered goals (long and short term). Week #6 Objective – Student will devise an appropriate patient-centered plan of care.

Examples of Weekly Objectives Week #7 Objective – Student will be able to complete the initial examination and evaluation of a patient in ____ (amount of time). Week #8 Objective – Student will be able to accurately document initial examination/evaluation efficiently.

Using Objectives to Plan Learning Experiences Refer to the Global Objectives and Weekly Objectives that have been adopted by your site. Establish your student’s learning needs. Determine the concept(s) to be taught.

Planning Learning Experiences Determine your learning resources by looking at available: –Patient care and other experiences –Personnel –Equipment Choose learning experiences that will meet your facility’s objectives and the student’s needs.

Planning Learning Experiences Write objective(s) for the learning experience. Choose teaching methods that will facilitate learning Examples – lecture, demonstration, videos, role play, reverse demonstration, research (go look it up), questioning, verbal cuing, patient care experience, other

Example Weekly objective – Student will be able to complete an appropriate chart review independently at the end of the week. Objective for learning experience – student will be able to locate the essential information in a medical record. Learning experience – chart review of ___ patients with a variety of diagnoses

Planning Learning Experiences Teaching methods for chart review –Verbal instruction, videos, handouts –Demonstration –Practice –Questioning Learning resources –Patient charts with a variety of diagnoses –Handouts, videos –List of written and/or verbal questions

Using Objectives to Assess Performance Refer to objectives frequently during a clinical experience. Use a rating scale to: –Assess the CI performance to determine how well the objectives are being taught. –Assess student performance to determine student progress through the rotation –Example (1 to 5 scale, 1 = poor, 5 = excellent)

Keys to Success Well-written behavioral objectives provide the building blocks for a successful clinical experience. Objectives should be used to define global outcomes, weekly progress and daily learning.

Keys to Success Communication and cooperation are essential to writing good objectives. –Work together as a department to determine global and weekly objectives for a clinical experience in your site. –Work together as a student/CI team to negotiate weekly goals that are appropriate for the student and your site. Use objectives to assess student progress and clinical instructor success.