Student Clinical Affiliation... a Successful, Replicable Model by Encore Rehabilitation

Student Clinical Affiliation…a successful, replicable model implemented by Encore Rehabilitation Services…

The defining stage for the renewal of the current Student Clinical Affiliation Program by Encore Rehabilitation Services is attributed to a time study analysis of an employee who was performing dual roles, one of managing internal and external requests for student placements within the disciplines of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.  At transition, the employee was managing 80 student related inquiries per week in conjunction with interdisciplinary team members assisting in clinical affiliation contract(s) management at a four tier Divisional Level comprised of 29 Regions.  Post study analysis indicated that the current organization’s level of success required an increased volume of attention to develop bridges between internal departments and community schools to achieve an increased level of maturity.  The renewed Student Clinical Affiliation Program Project was formally authorized in October 2017 resulting in an opportunity to implement a fulltime position for a Clinical Fieldwork Coordinator.

Project systems were the base of the solution that made a difference with our customers and staff facilitating a rapid reduction in missed student placement opportunities, delayed student rotations and/or neglect in the completion of the onboarding process. 

In order to manage and coordinate the renewed Student Clinical Affiliation Program’s performance, checks and balances were implemented quarterly however, as maturity was gained, measures were transitioned into monthly.   It is important to note that the ‘true measurements’ of the number of students placed and the number of students on boarded did not begin until January 2018.  Through the transition of a fulltime CFC in October 2017, an increased volume of interactions with the staff and customer(s) occurred over the program’s initial quarter revealing indicators of separation within the current Student Clinical Affiliation Program.  These indicators prompted training internally at the RVP level, Human Resource level, and TPM level as well as externally at the School level.  Currently, Encore Rehabilitation Services is affiliated with 1,381 schools. 

In review of the innovation test results, onboarding success is attributed to the development of procedural products that are consistently implemented to perform each step of the renewed Student Clinical Affiliation Program.

For details regarding Encore’s Student Clinical Affiliation Program, please contact Rex Crosby at [email protected].