Evaluating Clinical-Academic Partnerships in Physical Therapy Education: A Critically Appraised Topic on Available Assessment Tools

Scenario: Physical Therapy Clinical Education represents a significant component of curricula and requires cooperation between academic institutions and clinical education sites (CES). Curriculum structure variation, clinical instructor availability, and student internship demands impact the academic institutions and CES partnership. For stakeholders, communication of expectations and the individuality of the student placement workflow can strain partnerships. Longevity of the clinical-academic partnership depends on effective evaluation incorporating perspectives of both parties. Question: Are there bi- directional assessment tools or protocols available to help academic institutions and CES to evaluate each other in the areas of administrative and collaborative performance? Methods: A systematic search of Ovid Medline, Embase, and CINAHL, supplemented by a hand search of the Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy, was conducted. Inclusion criteria focused on English-language studies published after 1993 that included both academic institutions and CES, addressing administrative performance, outcomes assessment, workflow design, or goal alignment. Results: Of 329 studies screened, six met inclusion criteria. These examined curricular design, clinical educator profiling, and value-based partnerships, but none described or validated bi-directional assessment tools used by academic institutions and CES. Bottom Line: No standardized or validated assessment tools exist to evaluate clinical-academic partnerships within physical therapy education.