Cost of clinical instructors' time in clinical education--physical therapy students.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the total clinical instructor time required to conduct the clinical education program of our physical therapy school. Clinical instructors in 12 of the 29 regional health care facilities providing clinical education programs described, through questionnaires and interviews, the instructional activities in their programs and the number of hours a week required for each activity. For each activity, the instructors indicated whether it served educational purposes only (a single purpose activity) or patient care and research purposes as well (a joint purpose activity), and they estimated the time that they spent with the student (direct contact time). The sample data were used to estimate the annual requirement for clinical instructor time for the physical therapy clinical program, totaling 10,264 hours. The methodology and the findings of this study can assist governmental agencies, educational institutions, and clinical facilities to define policy and funding agreements for clinical training purposes.