Mock clinic. An approach to clinical education.

This paper presents a new clinical education experience initiated at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. A Mock Clinic was developed that simulates a real-life physical therapy department: students adopt roles of both physical therapist and patient. Each student is student-therapist and student-patient at least once each session. At the beginning of each session, the student-therapist selects a patient treatment card (containing instructions submitted by academic and clinical faculty members) and a faculty supervisor discusses the role of the patient with the student-patient to assist him in accurately displaying signs and symptoms. The student-therapist alos meets with the faculty supervisor to review the patient and the approach. The student-therapist then "evaluates" and "treats" the student-patient. A group discussion concludes each session. Mock Clinic is a role-playing experience that provides the opportunity for students to see themselves in clinical situations and enables them to learn without involving real clients. Strengths and weaknesses of Mock Clinic identified by all participants are discussed.