Integrated clinical experience with concurrent problem-based learning is associated with improved clinical reasoning among physical therapy students in the United States

Clinical reasoning (CR) is a key learning domain for physical therapy educators and a core skill for entry-level practitioners. Integrated clinical experience (ICE) and problem-based learning (PBL) have each been reported to improve interpersonal and social domains, while promoting knowledge acquisition and CR. Unfortunately, studies monitoring CR during ICE with concurrent PBL in physical therapy education are sparse. We hypothesized that ICE with concurrent PBL would be associated with improved self-reported CR in third-year student physical therapists (PTs) in the United States. The Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR) survey was administered to 42 student PTs at the beginning and end of their third and final year of didactic training. Between the pretest and posttest analyses, the participants completed faculty-led ICE and PBL coursework for 16 weeks. The overall SACRR score and 26 individual item scores were examined. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and paired t-test were used, with statistical significance accepted at P< 0.05. Significant improvements were observed in the overall SACRR score (P< 0.001), including 6 of the 26 survey items centered around decision-making based on experience and evidence, as well as self-reflection and reasoning. ICE with PBL was associated with improved self-assessed CR and reflection in third-year student PTs in the United States. Monitoring the impact of curricular design on CR may improve educators’ ability to enhance cognitive and psychomotor skills, which underscores the importance of increasing the explicit use of theoretical frameworks and teaching techniques for coping with uncertainty as a way of enhancing entry-level training.