A New Hope...

Recently I posted that two students would be joining me in the clinic for a six week rotation. At the behest of a PT student blogger, I have attempted to develop a more systematic approach to clinical instruction. This past week was our first week together and I have to say I am incredibly pleased with the results thus far.

I would really like to attribute the results to my carefully planned and well conceived curriculum. It always does my ego some good. However, lessons gleaned from 10 years of marriage lead me to tuck my ego away for a while and just skip to the facts. One is that both students are absolutely tireless in their desire for more information. They don't stop asking well thought out questions. Somewhere along the lines, both students learned that questions such as "Where is the sartorious?" can be looked up on their own. Consequently they continue to ask questions that will deepen their knowledge of practicing physical therapy in an orthopedic setting. The effort they are putting in and ability to think critically is largely responsible for their performances in the clinic this week.

This week I instructed them to strongly focus on taking an adequate history - an underrated skill in the clinic. By the end of the week, both students were asking relevant questions and getting relevant clinical data while making a good connection with their patients. I even had some patients commenting on their skill and professionalism.

Next week our focus will be on evaluation and examination on top of what they've already picked up working on histories. There will likely be more reading, thinking beyond the classroom, and a couple of brain cramps along the way, but this is all part of the learning process. Stay tuned for next weeks episode!

Attention class....

Man it has been a busy couple of weeks at the clinic. Sometimes it's hard to peel away from the daily grind at the clinic to sit down and have a friendly online debate, post on my blog, or just sit and read a good novel.

I've been having a good time interacting with the interesting folks on the SomaSimple website while staying a little more grounded with my roots on planet earth via the folks on RehabEdge. If you are a PT and interested in some spirited debate and good conversation, feel free to join us and let us hear from you.

Later this month I will be bringing in two physical therapy students for a six-week orthopedic rotation. My typical approach to students is the learn-on-the-fly model with very little structured sessions. After reading a post on a PT student's website, I have decided to take a much more proactive approach to the clinical experience. While I'm only in the early stages of planning, I hope to include:

• Specific learning objectives
• Weekly lectures
• Regular literature reviews
• Case presentations

These are things that will undoubtedly increase the demand on the students' attention and focus. I think the end result will be a better learning experience for them and offer me a chance to continue the process of reevaluating my approach to managing my patients....everybody wins.

If you have a novel approach to your students in the clinic, I want to hear from you as well. In my next blog, I will review some exciting literature I've been reading on the issue of OA following menisectomy and its possible relationship with distance running. See you next time!