Outcomes of Online Clinical Training Programs for Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapy Students

Background. Clinical training (CT) is a critical element in ensuring health science students’ competence. With the increasing use of telerehabilitation and telesupervision in higher education institutions since the pandemic, locally relevant studies on online CT are valuable.

Objective. The study aimed to investigate the outcomes of online/blended CT programs for occupational, physical, and speech therapy (OT, PT, SP, respectively) students in terms of clinical competencies, self-efficacy, and overall satisfaction.

Methods. We used a descriptive cross-sectional design for this study. Thirty-three clinical educators responded to the Clinical Educator Questionnaire, rating the perceived competence of online-trained students relative to previous cohorts they had supervised in conventional on-site training. Forty (40) undergraduate students, 2 OT, 11 PT, and 27 SP, completed the Student Questionnaire on clinical self-efficacy and satisfaction levels. Clinical grades were also collected.

Results. Overall, clinical educators rated the online-trained students as comparable to those with on-site CT across competencies on interviewing, clinical reasoning, patient records, interpersonal communication, time management, professionalism, and safety based on retrospective perceptions. Informed by prior experience, majority of assessment skills were rated as comparable as well, except for confidence in conducting assess-ments, which was deemed weaker among those who underwent online CT. Intervention skills were reported to be comparable to recalled on-site CT experience too, although the ability to explain treatment procedures was deemed better than those trained onsite. An overall mean score of 4.031 on self-efficacy was obtained, with the highest self-efficacy rating in interview skills (4.300) and professional behaviors (4.350) and the lowest ratings on time management (3.550) and clinical reasoning (3.792). Self-efficacy was reportedly affected by the nature, amount, and variety of client interactions, among other factors. All student participants had clinical grades that were 2.0 (good) or higher, with the majority garnering at least a 1.50 (very good). The majority (53.84%) of the student participants were moderately satisfied with their online/blended CT program.

Conclusion. Online CT is a viable mode of learning for OT, PT, and SP as it yields competencies comparable to traditional on-site training. Frequent client interactions and varied caseloads may help improve clinical selfefficacy and satisfaction levels. Blended learning setups may also be beneficial in giving more opportunities to develop more specialized, discipline-specific skills.