Clinical education is the portion of the student's professional education that involves practice and application of classroom knowledge and skills to clinical responsibilities.
This occurs at a variety of clinical sites and includes experience in evaluation, patient care, critical thinking, administration, teaching, supervision, and evidence-based practice. The clinical education courses are critical to the development of competent, professional (entry-level) practitioners.
It is important that the clinical education experiences be designed to maximize student learning. The D'Youville PT Department maintains responsibility for the clinical education courses while relying heavily on practitioners to design, implement, and assess student learning experiences and student performances. Therefore, coordination of student clinical assignments, communication with clinical education faculty, monitoring of the quality of the student's experiences, and assessment of student performance are vital to the quality of the student's education.