Evaluating Learning by Assessing Patient Outcomes in a Student Pro Bono Clinic: A Case Report.

Background and purpose: In 2020, a clinical practice guideline (CPG) highly recommended high-intensity gait training (HIGT) to improve walking outcomes in adults with chronic stroke, incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), and brain injury. The success of implementing a CPG into a student-run pro bono clinic (SRPBC) utilizing knowledge translation (KT) to assess student learning is not well described. The purpose of this case report is to describe student learning by assessing the fidelity of HIGT implementation (time spent in HIGT and level of cardiovascular intensity) in a SRPBC.

Case description: MoveMore is a HIGT program delivered by Doctor of Physical Therapy students and Bachelor of Science in Nursing in a SRPBC.

Outcomes: During Spring/Summer 2023, 24 physical therapy students, 10 nursing students, and 13 community partners (12 diagnosed with stroke, 1 with incomplete SCI) participated in MoveMore. The average time students engaged the community partners in HIGT was 46 minutes (range 32-54), while only 6 community partners spent a minimum of 13% of the time in the target heart rate zone.

Discussion and conclusion: Students delivering HIGT are able to engage community partners for time parameters aligning with the locomotor CPG; however, they are not successful in having a person with stroke/incomplete SCI consistently reach a moderate to high level of cardiovascular intensity. Using KT to implement a CPG and tracking patient outcomes allows physical therapy educators to assess student learning.