Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physical Therapy

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

First Advisor

Debra Stern

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2024

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

Background: Integrated clinical education (ICE) experiences are short clinical experiences that precede the completion of the didactic curriculum and often serve as precursors to full-time clinical education experiences (FTCEs). No standard assessment for ICE experiences presently exists. Without an instrument that reliably measures student performance during ICE experiences and that has been validated for this purpose, physical therapy education programs (PTEPs) and clinical instructors (CIs) may not accurately assess student readiness for FTCEs. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation study was to analyze the psychometric properties of, and stakeholder satisfaction with, an adapted version of the Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool (CIET) used to assess students during part-time ICE experiences in an entry-level DPT program. The results of the study include recommendations for future tool optimization. Methods: This dissertation was completed in three parts within two phases. Parts 1 and 2 examined retrospective data from part-time ICE courses at Trine University. In Part 1, the level of agreement between the CI, self-evaluation, and peer evaluation ratings were analyzed. In Part 2, Rasch model analyses explored the psychometric properties of the tool. Part 3 utilized a prospective mixed-methods survey to examine the CI and student satisfaction with the tool. Results: Data from 708 student assessments were analyzed for the retrospective phase. The level of agreement between CI and students was variable with increasing agreement as students progressed through the ICE courses. Rasch model analyses optimized the adapted version of the CIET to 24 items and reduced the rating categories. The final model demonstrated excellent person and item reliability measures, construct validity, and criterion validity. In the prospective phase, data from a mixed-methods survey examined stakeholder satisfaction and feedback about the adapted version of the CIET. Overall stakeholder satisfaction was high. Qualitative themes and subthemes supported the changes in the optimized tool. Discussion/Conclusion: There was no standard assessment for ICE experiences that could be identified in the literature. The optimized adapted version of the CIET could fill this void. The tool has excellent psychometric properties and stakeholder satisfaction. Minor enhancements to the optimized tool are suggested before using it in the future.

Disciplines

Physical Therapy

Keywords

Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool; Integrated clinical education; Mixed-methods; Physical therapy; Rasch model analysis; Student assessment

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