Current Status and Trends of Physical Therapy Clinical Education in Taiwan R.O.C.
Resource
JOURNAL OF THE PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, R.O.C. v.19 n.2 pp.172- 181
Journal
JOURNAL OF THE PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, R.O.C. v.19 n.2 pp.172- 181
Pages
-
Date Issued
1994
Date
1994
Author(s)
WU, YING-TAI
LING, WEN
Abstract
This study examine current status and trends of Physical Therapy clinical education in Taiwan, the Republic of China . Six baccalaureate level Physical Therapy ecucation programs were surveyed in Spring 1994. Four out of six Physical Therapy programs scheduled part-time clinical experiences for junior students. A total of eighteen clinical education centers were affiliated with six Physical Therapy education programs to provide clinical experiences for 206 senior stucents during the school year 1993-1994. All senior students had to complete a 42-week frll-time clinical education program prior to graduation. The affiliated clinical education centers included seventeen general hospitals and one rehabilitation hospital. Senior students had exposures in the areas of orthopedic and neurological physical therapy at each clinical education center. Fewer clinical education centers provided pediatric or cardiopulmonary experiences. The total number of clinical instructors involved in teaching these senior students was 130, with the mean clinical experience of 4.5 years and the mean clinical teaching experiences of 3.5 years. Clinical instructors were responsible for evaluating the students' clinical performance and their reports were used to determine students' grades. None of tne on-site visits conducted by the academic faculty members influence stukents ' grades. The number of clinical site visits ranged from zero to two times for each site during the school year 1993- 1994. Only one third of the clinical education centers had interim or mid- term evaluation. Various methods were used to evaluate students' clinical performance. Clinical education programs were shifted toward a decrease in full-time clinical experience in the senior year and an increase of part- time clinical experience in the junior year recently. Lack of experienced clinical instructors remained as one of the crucial problema in Physical Therapy clinical education in Taiwan. Reliable, valid, and feasible evaluation tools were needed for Physical Therapy education programs.#0320 #