Educational Benefits of an International Service-Learning Course in Honduras for Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Abstract

Background: International service-learning (ISL) activities are academic experiences that encompass participation in organized service activities, practical experiences, and critical reflection. The assessment of physical therapy clinical education is primarily achieved through student performance on the clinical performance instrument (CPI) during clinical education. The CPI assesses a student's performance in all subdomains of professional practice and patient management and is completed during each clinical education experience.Objective: Within the framework of an ongoing community-based program, the purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in aggregate and subdomain performance on the CPI between Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students enrolled in an elective ISL course and matched controls.Methods: Twenty-three DPT students participated in an elective ISL and compared to controls matched on age, gender, cohort and clinical setting utilizing a case-control design. McNemar tests were used to compare the proportion of ISL participants and controls that had each CPI subdomain listed as a strength. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the total number of CPI subdomains listed as strengths between ISL participants and their matched controls. Conclusion:A significantly greater proportion of ISL participants than controls had "communication" listed as a strength in the CPI comments (p=0.04). ISL participants also had significantly more subdomains listed as strengths compared to their matched controls (p < 0.01). Results suggest that participation in an ISL with an emphasis on clinical care may accelerate DPT student gains in professional communication and overall clinical performance. Volume 4 -Issue 2Copyrights @ Todd Watson, et al.