Student and new graduate perception of hospital versus institutional clinic for clinical educational experience.

Objective: To explore final-year students and new graduates from 2 North American chiropractic colleges regarding perceptions of the clinical educational experience in a hospital vs the institutional clinical setting.

Methods: A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used for this research. Students and new graduates were invited to participate from a United States and Canadian chiropractic college. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 49 students and 14 new graduates lasting 60 minutes. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews was undertaken.

Results: The data identified that there were advantages and disadvantages to having clinical education in both settings. For instance, the hospital setting had a more varied patient case mix (making it more complex and challenging for their clinical skills development), the pace was faster, and there was more evidence-based practice. This compared to the college clinics, which tended to be slower paced and had less variation, students were required to build a patient base, and patient demographics resembled that expected in private practice. Each environment was considered a unique clinical learning experience.

Conclusion: Access and opportunity in both clinical environments is considered optimal in regards to providing a broad and varied student clinical experience. Exclusivity to one may not provide the best preparation for the professional context. As most graduate opportunities are private practice, the institutional clinical environment will provide a sufficient clinical teaching and learning environment to support the professional needs. A combination of these environments is considered ideal for the graduate.