Clinical Education Capacity of One Regional Physical Therapist Consortium: A Centralized Placement Process Case Report.

Background and purpose: It has been suggested that capacity for physical therapy clinical education (CE) experiences is limited; however, data remain unavailable. Regional CE networks have been suggested and may facilitate data collection and management of capacity issues. The Ohio Kentucky Consortium of Physical Therapy Programs developed a Consortium Core Network (CCN) from shared partnerships and implemented a centralized placement process. The purpose of this case report is to begin to describe the capacity of one regional consortium in terms of its demand, supply, and utilization of CE experiences.

Case description: A centralized placement process was implemented in 2022 using Exxat while retaining autonomy for sites and programs. Sites affiliated with 2 or more of the Consortium's 14 physical therapist academic programs (n = 364) were invited to participate, with 101 opting in. Academic programs maintained their individual processes with nonparticipants.

Outcomes: Data obtained provide a description of regional CE capacity for 2023. Demand was 2353 CE experiences; total supply obtained was 4,193, with 19% offered on a "first-come, first-served" basis and 24% obtained through the CCN. Within the centralized process, all academic programs received offers. Outpatient (66%) and terminal experiences (42%) were most plentiful. Overall utilization of CCN offers was 54%, with greater use of inpatient (82%), first (68%), and program-specific (63%) offers.

Discussion and conclusion: This collaborative process provided novel data valuable in understanding regional physical therapist CE capacity. Although the total supply obtained seems to exceed demand, alignment between offer type (level, setting, "first-come, first-served" designation) and needs of individual programs and students must be considered further.