Pechak Celia, Black Jill D
Physical Therapy Program, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave., El Paso, TX, 79968, USA.
Physiother Res Int. 2013 Dec;18(4):239-49. doi: 10.1002/pri.1556. Epub 2013 Jun 3.
The influence of internationalization on physiotherapist education in at least North American-based programmes has become more apparent. Faculty and students have been involved in various international activities. One category of activities includes international clinical education (ICE), where students earn clinical education credit for their learning activities at international sites. Although this educational strategy appears to be increasingly used in at least the United States and Canada, the related literature is limited in scope. The purpose of this portion of the present study was to investigate the benefits and challenges of ICE for US-based students, US-based physiotherapy programmes and international partners from the perspective of US-based faculty sending students for clinical education internationally.
Content analysis was used for this qualitative study. Fifteen US-based faculty members who had experience in sending physiotherapist students for ICE were recruited. The primary researcher conducted semi-structured phone interviews, averaging approximately 60 minutes in length. The primary and secondary researchers completed data analysis using NVivo 8 software (QSR International Inc., Cambridge, MA).
Benefits of ICE to the students included exposure to alternate health systems, broadening of student perspectives and clinical competence. Challenges consisted of funding and possible language barrier. Increased visibility, expanded global perspective and faculty collaborations were benefits to the programme. Ensuring a quality learning experience was the greatest programme challenge. Benefits to the international site included education and faculty collaborations/exchanges; challenges were language, student clinical preparation and unfamiliarity with the student evaluation tool. Because the sample was limited to 15 US-based faculty members, the results may not be relevant to all programmes inside or outside of the United States. Additionally, the study lacked perspectives from the students or international sites.
The present study is an early step in the important examination of the impact of this emerging educational trend on physiotherapy education and practice.
国际化对至少北美地区物理治疗师教育项目的影响已愈发明显。教师和学生都参与了各种国际活动。其中一类活动包括国际临床教育（ICE），即学生在国际场所进行学习活动并获得临床教育学分。尽管这种教育策略在美国和加拿大至少越来越多地被采用，但相关文献的范围有限。本研究这一部分的目的是从美国教师送学生到国际进行临床教育的角度，调查国际临床教育对美国学生、美国物理治疗项目以及国际合作伙伴的益处和挑战。
本定性研究采用内容分析法。招募了15位有送物理治疗专业学生参与国际临床教育经验的美国教师。主要研究者进行了平均时长约60分钟的半结构化电话访谈。主要和次要研究者使用NVivo 8软件（QSR国际公司，马萨诸塞州剑桥）完成数据分析。
国际临床教育对学生的益处包括接触其他医疗体系、拓宽学生视野和临床能力。挑战包括资金和可能的语言障碍。对项目的益处包括提高知名度、拓宽全球视野和教师合作；最大的项目挑战是确保高质量的学习体验。对国际场所的益处包括教育以及教师合作/交流；挑战是语言、学生临床准备和对学生评估工具不熟悉。由于样本仅限于15位美国教师，结果可能不适用于美国境内或境外的所有项目。此外，该研究缺乏学生或国际场所的观点。
本研究是对这一新兴教育趋势对物理治疗教育和实践影响进行重要考察的早期步骤。
