Clinical education of physiotherapy students in Australia: perceptions of current models.

The aim of this study was to seek opinions regarding the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the two main models of clinical education used in Australia. A questionnaire was designed specifically for this study and distributed to physiotherapists involved in clinical education at health units throughout Australia. There were 343 respondents (giving an approximate response rate of 74.5%). In most health units (78.4%) the model of clinical education currently used involves a number of physiotherapists sharing responsibility for the clinical education of students (SR model). Only a minority reported employing a designated clinical educator (DCE) to provide clinical education. Overall, respondents preferred the DCE model to the SR model. The perceived advantages of the DCE model included an increased time to devote to clinical education, improved consistency of supervision and decreased stress levels for staff.