Evaluating the Performance of the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education in Physical Therapist Education: Determining Appropriate Criteria and Assessors

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Fall 2006 by Buccieri, Kathleen M, Brown, Renee

In the category of Scholarship, there was a high reliance on the academic department chair to provide input for evaluation of scholarship. Respondents may be indicating that the chair is the individual with the most knowledge regarding an ACCE's activities and effectiveness in this area. Students, CIs, and CCCEs were given importance ratings by less than 10% of respondents for most criteria in the Scholarship category. The importance of scholarship was more varied amongst respondents and in contrast with the findings of Holcomb,8 who found high value for scholarly activities in academia. It is unclear if the respondents to our survey were providing their personal opinion or the values of their institution. The rating of Scholarship on this survey may be attributed to the academic rank of many respondents as assistant professor (50.5%), or non-tenureeligible (59.7%). Perhaps the percentage of time dedicated to the administrative workload that is part of the position description makes it difficult for ACCEs to dedicate time to pursue scholarly endeavors. The variability is reflective of the variety of position types and academic rankings, the variability in the percentage of workload dedicated to clinical education, and the changing view of scholarship in academia. The view of scholarship has broadened from traditional research to include teaching, discovery, integration, and application.6 The criteria used in the questionnaire were based on a traditional scholarship model. Criteria under Scholarship might have been rated higher if the criteria had reflected the broader view of scholarship. For ACCEs to achieve academic advancements of promotion, succeed in applications for tenure, and meet the expectations of CAPTE, scholarship may need to become a more integral part of the ACCE workload. Harris" reported that the most satisfied ACCEs in physical therapist education were women that were on the tenure track. It follows that success in tenure applications would enhance career satisfaction of the ACCE.

Criteria related to service to the profession, such as being involved in professional physical therapy organizations or clinical education consortia, were more frequently reported to be extremely important in the Service category. Criteria relating to service to the institution, community organizations, or clinical practice were not rated as frequently as extremely important. High reliance was placed on the academic administrator for input on the evaluation of service. Many of the criteria, such as professional involvement, clinical education consortia involvement, inservices to clinical sites, and community service are conducted outside of the institution and may not be observed by the academic chair. It might be beneficial for ACCEs to gather data from those directly involved in the service activities to generate qualitative and quantitative information for the chair to assess. Frequently, service is reported only as a quantitative involvement, and the quality of that participation or contribution is not evaluated.