title: The effect of student clinical experiences on clinician productivity.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of student clinical education experiences on acute and inpatient rehabilitation clinical instructor (CI) productivity. The hypothesis was that CI/student teams would be more productive than CIs working without students. CIs (n = 5) and students (n = 6) from a master's in physical therapy program provided productivity data on their daily patient care. We examined three primary outcomes: (1) number of patients seen per day, (2) number of charges generated per day, and (3) number of evaluations performed per day. We examined clinician productivity for 4 weeks with a student and for 4 weeks without a student. The results indicated significant differences between CI/student teams compared with CI working without students for two outcomes: (1) number of patients seen per day and (2) number of charges generated per day. Presence of students did not affect significantly the number of evaluations performed. Overall the results of this study contribute to research showing that student physical therapists positively affect clinician productivity.
authors.affiliation: UTEP College of Health Sciences, 1101 North Campbell, El Paso, TX 79902, USA. ldillon@utep.edu
authors.forename: Loretta Schoen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tomaka
authors.forename: Claudia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Chriss
authors.forename: Camelia P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hairston
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D003162:Competency-Based Education; D004526:Efficiency; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty / Q000193:education*; D011231:Preceptorship; D011361:Professional Competence; D013781:Texas