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Clinical education experiences, a significant portion of entry-level professional education programs in physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT), commonly use a one student to one clinical instructor (1:1) model. Recently, though, the collaborative model of clinical education has received more attention in the professional literature and in clinical education experiences. The collaborative model-where two or more students complete a clinical education experience within a specific clinical area while supervised and educated by one primary clinical instructor (2:1 or 3:1)-has been used historically within the Mayo Clinic's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in PT and now OT. Clinical instructors, referred to as clinical education coordinators, supervise and educate students as a primary job responsibility. Students also teach and learn from each other. This article describes the collaborative clinical education model used at the Mayo Clinic. Benefits and challenges of the model, feedback from students who have participated in the model, and the productivity implications of using the model are included. J Allied Health 2009; 38:132-142.
THE COLLABORATIVE MODEL of clinical education, defined as a clinical or fieldwork experience in which two or more students work collaboratively under the supervi- sion and guidance of one primary instructor (usually 2:1 or 3:1 student-to-teacher ratio), has been used historically at the Mayo Clinic. It began with physical therapy (PT) clinical education in the 1930s and now also includes occupational therapy (OT) students participating in fieldwork experiences. Its use at the Mayo Clinic was born out of necessity. The need for clinical sites to fulfill the graduation requirements for students resulted in a contained clinical education model within the clinic in Rochester, MN. In this model, multiple PT students simultaneously completed collaborative clinical education experiences within the various practice settings of the Mayo Clinic Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR). Since there were 20 to 30 students per class who needed clinical education, only four to five clinical periods per year, and a department directive to use only Mayo clinical sites for student clinical education, the collaborative model was created.
The model has become known as the Mayo Collaborative Model of Clinical Education (MCMCE) and has spread to other disciplines at Mayo, including OT. The MCMCE continues to be used today with the majority of PT and...