Variation in the Geographic Distribution of Physiotherapy Student Clinical Placements in Rural Saskatchewan.

Rural and remote Saskatchewan has a shortage of physiotherapists. Positive student experiences in rural and remote communities may influence whether graduates choose to work in these settings. The intention of the first full-time, 4-week clinical placement (CP) in the Master of Physical Therapy programme at the University of Saskatchewan is to provide clinical experiences in rural settings outside Saskatoon and Regina.

Scoring of the physical therapist clinical performance instrument (PT-CPI): analysis of 7 years of use.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to (1) describe the completion rates of the 24 performance criteria (PCs) from the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT-CPI) by clinical instructors; (2) evaluate change in PC visual analogue scores (VAS) with students' clinical experience; and (3) evaluate scoring patterns over time.

Methods: Final VAS scores for 208 physiotherapy (PT) students (seven cohorts) from 1,039 clinical placements between 2001 and 2008 were analyzed. Completion rates were calculated for each PC.