The purpose of clinical education is to provide opportunities for students to apply and refine what they have learned in the classroom. With supervision and assistance from a physical therapist/physical therapist assistant clinical instructor, students will work directly with patients, their families, and interdisciplinary health care team in a variety of clinical settings. Each clinical course will require more independence in patient care, communications, and decision-making than the course before. By the end of the final clinical course, students will be functioning as an entry-level physical therapist assistant as demonstrated on PTA MACS, the grading tool used for WVC PTA clinicals The Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) will place the student in the clinical assignment, and the student will discuss any concerns the student may have. Final determination of clinical placement is established by the ACCE. Costs associated with the clinical are the responsibility of the student, including clinical attire, travel, lodging, food. Clinical education consists of 40 hours per week for 4-6 weeks. Clinical I is 4 weeks, and Clinical II and III are 6 weeks in length. Students will follow the clinical instructor's work schedule.

These charts contain important information for PTA I - PTA III and a PTA MACS Criteria.

PTA Clinical I: Click Here

PTA Clinical II: Click Here

PTA Clinical III: Click Here

PTA MACS CRITERIA: Click Here

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To view the PTA Clinical Education Handbook, CLICK HERE

Exxat Prism is a software solution designed for the efficient management of clinical education. The Clinical Education Module of Prism (formerly known as STEPS) empowers faculty members by offering a centralized platform to manage a wide range of educational materials and student evaluations. With this tool, you can oversee all data in one place, including placement availability, site details, accreditation reports, required documents, clinical syllabus, patient logs, PTA MACS, and other forms or evaluations.

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The Physical Therapist Assistant Mastery and Assessment of Clinical Skills (PTA MACS) evaluation tool covers all clinical skills that define the role and responsibilities of the Physical Therapist Assistant. The PTA MACS follows the legal practice boundaries and guidelines provided by the APTA. Each student completes self-ratings of the PTA MACS at the same timeframes the Clinical Instructor completes this assessment tool within the EXXAT website.

Each Clinical Syllabus has skills required skills check list which is located in the "Clinical Performance- Skills Expectations" section on this page. Students have the syllabus available to view on the Learning Management System "Canvas" which is used by Illinois Eastern Community Colleges.

Instructions are available on the EXXAT links below. Any Instructor requiring assistance is welcome to contact the ACCE for a walk-through of how to complete the tool.

If a skill listed within the PTA MACS is not applicable to the clinic, you may choose "not assessed." As long as a student is rated at "(+)" Above Entry Level or "(✔️)" Entry Level, it does not require comments, whereas those skills rated at "(NI)" Not Independent will require a feedback comment to support the rating. As stated, PTA MACS is completed at mid-clinical and end of clinical.

Feedback to the student on issues that need to be corrected should be provided as soon as possible rather than waiting for feedback at a midterm. The student should ask questions often, and the Clinical Instructor should provide clarification and education where needed. If the issues cannot be resolved during student and Clinical Instructor meetings, the student or Clinical Instructor should contact the ACCE.

Each clinical has a list of required skills. The skills progress as the student advances through the program to their final clinical. These charts contain the standards or minimum expectations for the PTA Clinicals I through III. For specific skills which pertain to multiple joints, muscle, or multiple types of the skill. What this means is that the student must demonstrate a minimum number of "entry level" performances of more than one type in order to be checked off as entry level.

These charts contain important information for PTA I - PTA III Requirements

Required Skills Clinical I: Click Here

Required Skills Clinical II: Click Here

Required Skills Clinical III: Click Here

To view the PTA MACS, please CLICK HERE

Navigate by clicking on a document on the first page, or read through/print all information.

• Fireside Chat: Site Resource Page (Exxat Prism) Date of webinar: May 25, 2023
• Managing Forms / Evaluations Prism
• PT MACS Tool Overview & Adoption Considerations for DPT Student Performance Assessment within Exxat Date of webinar: June 16, 2023

If you have a question, feel free to reach out to the clinical education coordinator Kinsey Whitaker PT, ACCE or Donna Sigler, PTA Program Administrative Assistant. Click this link for contact information: WVC PTA Program