APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs FAQs

What is APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs provides users with an effective and efficient method of documenting and communicating student performance during the clinical education experience. APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs allows students to self-assess their clinical performance throughout the clinical education experience, with formal documentation required at mid and final evaluation periods. The Clinical Instructor (CI) can formally evaluate the student’s performance on the 14 PTA performance criteria, as well as enter notes about the student’s progress throughout the clinical experience.
 
What can I do with APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs provides the academic programs, as well as APTA, the ability to track essential information about the CIs and SCCEs at their respective clinical sites. This site saves considerable management time for all parties involved in the clinical evaluation and documentation processes. Academic programs can also view student progress at-a-glance at the midterm and final evaluation periods.

Is APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs the same as the current paper version of the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
No. APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs has numerous changes and enhancements from the paper APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs: Version 1999, including the ability to track student’s exposure to various interventions; 14 performance criteria instead of 21; comprehensive lists of essential skills within each performance criteria; an ordinal scale with anchor definitions that helps to measure student performance relative to expectations; and much more.

How much will it cost academic programs to use the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs site?
Liaison International understands that PTA Program budgets are typically limited and has set the annual subscription fee for the academic program as low as possible at $800 per year. This fee includes training and product support for the Program Directors, ACCE/DCEs, and assigned staff, as provided by Liaison International.

Under what circumstances might this subscription fee increase?
If Liaison International is asked to expand the scope of the current site there may be an increase in the fee, but this would be negotiated through APTA.

Is there any cost for Students, CIs, SCCEs, or Clinical Sites to use the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
No.

How is data put into APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
Liaison international provides each academic program with a set of Excel templates outlining the data need for APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs. Once the worksheets are complete, the data is simply uploaded into APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs. Liaison International will provide faculty at the program with training in how to use the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs through directed webinars. Data can also be manually entered directly into APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs.

Does APTA have access to the personal data of any student or CI?
No. APTA only has access to anonymous aggregated data from those students and CIs who authorize the release of such data for national analysis. Since the data will be analyzed only by group and not by individuals, APTA encourages students and CIs to authorize the release of their data.

How secure is the academic program’s data? Can staff from other academic programs gain access to my academic program’s data? Can CIs access my academic program’s data if they are working with one of our students?
Only your academic program will be able to view individual CI and student records for the students in your academic program. You will not have access to any CI or student records from another academic institution. Only those students that are included in your import table (to create your academic program's database) and assigned CIs will have access to assigned assessment surveys provided by your academic program. At a given clinical site, only the CI and SCCE can access those students that are being directly supervised and evaluated by them, since their password access allows them to complete performance assessments for their assigned student only. Although the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs is a national web-based instrument, access to individual student records is maintained at the local programmatic and clinic levels. The academic program will be able to access past APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs records of their students only.

Will the Program Directors be able to see the results of one student over all his/her clinical experiences?
Yes. We will offer a view of a given student’s overall (average) and individual Performance Criteria final performance on successive clinical experiences.

Will the Program Directors be able to see the results for all students assigned to a given site in a given year and over two or more years?
Yes.

Will the Program Directors be able to export the data and when?
Yes, they will be able to export and, at present, the plan is to have them do so at the end of a given term when the course containing the Clinical Experiences has concluded and all students in that course have completed their assessments. However, the export could be run at any time, collecting available data for initial review by the Program Director.

What happens if students/CIs do not complete the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs training modules and pass the post-assessment quiz?
All users will have an opportunity to retake the assessment to demonstrate competence by successfully passing the required threshold of 70%. If users do not complete the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs training modules, they will be locked out from having access to the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs until they have done so.

How long does it take from when the student/CI completes the APTA training to gain access to APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs?
The student/CI will be able to log in to APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs as soon as their data has been uploaded by an academic program, creating a record for that user. If the student/CI used the same email address to complete the APTA training as what was uploaded to the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs database, the user will automatically have access to start filling out the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs. If there is a discrepancy between email addresses, the user will be prompted to enter the email address used to complete the training or to contact a Liaison International support staff member for assistance with gaining access to the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs. 

What responsibilities do clinical sites have when they agree to become APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs users?
Four responsibilities: 1) provide timely notice to their affiliated academic programs regarding the availability of upcoming clinical experiences and assigned CIs, 2) provide internet access for students and CIs, 3) regularly update both the SCCE and Site profiles within the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs program, and 4) complete the free APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs online training and assessment program through the APTA Learning Center.

Do CIs and SCCEs need to be APTA members in order to complete the online APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs training and collect the associated CEUs?
No, APTA membership number is not a required field as there are many individuals that need to take this course who are not APTA members. The APTA membership number will, however, be an optional field for those who are APTA members so that the APTA can be provided with this information to accurately assign CEU credit for taking the training program. In addition, individuals completing the training must provide all relevant information to issue all CEUs to those who successfully pass the assessment. Students are not eligible to be awarded CEUs.

If a student does not have Internet access at a given clinical site, how will they submit their APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs assessment?
It is suggested that students go to the library (or some other location with a WiFi hot spot) during the evening. Completing the assessment is the same as doing essential homework for non-clinical courses.

If a clinical site does not have Internet access how will CIs complete their APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs assessment?
CIs often complete their assessments from home where they usually have Internet access. If they do not have access at home, they too will need to look to the local library, coffee shop, or some other location where access is available, or revert to using a paper copy of the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs that would need to be mailed to the Program Director for online entry by Program staff. A copy of the entered version will usually be sent to the CI for verification and final approval.

When Internet access is difficult, how will students meet with their CIs for their mid and final evaluation discussions?
When both the student and CI have completed their surveys, they can view the results together online at the local library, coffee shop, or another location with internet access. Alternatively, either individual can print the Combined Score Report and use it as the basis for their conversation.

When Internet access is impossible, how will students meet with their CIs for their mid and final evaluation discussions?
If neither the student nor CI have access to the Internet during the clinical experience, they will need to fill out a paper version of the APTA Clinical Performance Instrument for PTAs assessment form then compare and discuss the results (anywhere it is convenient) at the mid and final evaluations of the clinical experience. When the student returns home, he or she can enter his or her results online. CIs, on the other hand, are asked to mail their completed assessment form to the Program for online entry by Program staff. A copy of the entered version will usually be sent to the CI for verification and final approval.