Darryl Young (SUNY Upstate Medical University) and Marissa Hanlon (SUNY Upstate Medical University)
The terminal clinical experience for the DPT Class of 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19. The situation required a solution to address lost clinic time while providing students with clinically relevant material to address their knowledge gaps and improve their clinical reasoning skills. The course was revised to include virtual clinical instructor (CI) led small group discussions, 1-2 times a week, for 9 weeks. CIs implemented 1-hour sessions, with guidance from the academic faculty, that were setting-specific and individualized to the objectives for the student group. A survey was sent to student and CI participants to gather feedback about the effectiveness of the discussions after 9 weeks. Students and CIs agreed that the small group sessions were helpful in developing the students’ clinical reasoning skills (86% and 100%) and in identifying setting-specific student knowledge gaps (75% and 100%). Additionally, 80% of CIs indicated that the sessions were helpful in further developing their skills as a CI and 61% of students recommended that similar sessions be incorporated into the curriculum for future cohorts. CI guided small group sessions may be an effective way to engage and prepare students for future clinical experiences.
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