A New Year and Upcoming Scholarship Opportunity Opening Mid-January

As 2016 begins, the OKCPTP is excited about the future of physical therapy clinical education! The recently formed National Consortium of Clinical Educators (NCCE) is actively working to provide a voice for clinical educators to the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) that will inform future educational directions. ACAPT is in the process of forming three Strategic Initiative Panels to put forth recommendations related to Integrated Clinical Education (ICE), Student Readiness, and Common Terminology. In the coming year, much work will be done at the national and regional levels to ensure that we are moving forward with a vision for clinical education that matches the current healthcare climate.

While these larger initiatives move ahead, we must not lose sight of the fact that individual clinical educators have a tremendous impact on student success! The OKCPTP seeks to support the development of clinical educators of all experience levels, as we value life-long learning as an essential characteristic of strong clinical instructors. In addition to our annual fall workshops at rotating locations around Ohio and Kentucky and other individual mentoring activities, we offer support to clinicians in the form of scholarships/awards. Detailed information about these awards can be found on our website (http://www.okptce.com) under the “Awards and Recognition” tab.

The first award to be offered in 2016 will be The Karen O’Loughlin Clinical Instructor Credentialing Award. This award was created to honor Karen O’Loughlin, PT, DPT, MA, one of the founding members of the consortium, and involves a certificate of recognition and reimbursement for up to $300 for clinical instructors to complete either the Level I or Level II APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP). Nominations are made by OKCPTP member institutions from among the licensed PT educators living and/or working in the Ohio-Kentucky region. Nominees must also meet the following criteria for this particular award:

1. Have demonstrated an interest in developing his/her clinical teaching skills

2. Show evidence of leadership in clinical education or the potential for becoming a future leader

3. Be a member of the American Physical Therapy Association

Academic institutions will be making their nominations from January 15 - February 15, 2016. If you wish to be considered for this award, we recommend letting your partnering clinical education institution(s) know of your interest! Through this award, we are excited to recognize both more novice clinical instructors who are seeking to develop their initial teaching skills, as well as more experienced instructors who wish to continue to refine their abilities.

Finally, keep your eyes out later this year in June for The Peter D. Mosher Educational Leadership Conference (ELC) Scholarship, which supports clinician travel to ELC in October. Thank you for your continued commitment to the future of our profession through our students, and we look forward to exciting opportunities for collaboration in 2016!