JHPIEGO TrainerNews™ |
Managing Clinical Practice: Pre- and
Post-Clinical Meetings (Part 3 of 5)
(May 2001)
The following was excerpted from JHPIEGO's newly revised Clinical Training Skills manual. This is the third of five parts on managing clinical practice.
Planning includes designing a schedule that allows participants adequate time to work with clients, and developing assignments and other learning activities for participants to complete in order to provide a positive learning environment in the clinic.
Even the best planning is not always enough to ensure a successful clinical practice experience. In the classroom, the trainer is able to control the schedule and activities to a large extent. In the clinic, however, the trainer must always be alert to unplanned learning opportunities that may arise at any time, and be ready to modify the schedule accordingly.Pre-Clinical Practice Meetings
The trainer and participants should meet at the beginning of each clinical practice session. Most clinical sessions occur in the morning because this is when the client caseload is heaviest. The meeting should be scheduled early enough so that participants will be ready to attend to clients by the normal opening time. It is not appropriate to expect the clinic staff to make clients wait until the participants are available, because this may cause excessive delays to both clients and staff.
The meeting should be brief. Items to be covered include:
the learning objectives for that day
any scheduling changes that may be needed
participants' roles and responsibilities for that day, including the work assignments and rotation schedule if applicable
special assignments to be completed that day
the topic for the post-clinical practice meeting, so that the participants can take special note of anything happening during the day that would contribute to the discussion!
questions related to that day's activities or from previous days if they can be answered concisely; if not, they should be deferred until the post-clinical practice meeting
Post-Clinical Practice Meetings
The clinical trainer should end each clinical day with a meeting to review the day's events and build on them as learning experiences. A minimum of 1 hour will be needed. These meetings are used to:
review the days learning objectives and assess progress toward their completion
present cases seen that day, particularly those that were interesting, unusual or difficult
respond to clinical questions concerning situations and clients in the clinic or information in the reference manual
plan for the next clinical session, making changes in the schedule as necessary
conduct additional practice with models if needed
review and discuss case studies, role plays or assignments that have been prepared in advance by the participants. These activities should complement the sessions conducted during the classroom portion of the course, especially when classroom time is limited and clinical experience is necessary to gain a better understanding of the issues to be discussed. Topics for case studies, role plays and assignments include:
side effects and their management
quality of care
provision of servicesClogistics, infection prevention
medical barriers to providing high quality services
These meetings, especially extended sessions, should be conducted away from the client care area if possible. Although every clinic will not have a meeting room, an effort should be made to locate a space that will allow free discussion, small group work and practice on models and that will not interfere with efficient client care or other staff duties. The trainer may need to be very creative to find such a location. If weather permits, these sessions can be held outdoors. They can also be held at the classroom if it is nearby, although the trainer and participants may spend valuable time getting there.
For more information about conducting a clinical skills course, contact Rick Sullivan.