Development of a clinical skills remediation program for chiropractic students at a university

Abstract

Objective: An important goal of chiropractic educational institutions is to ensure that all graduates reach an acceptable level of clinical competency and thus institutions are equipped to offer traceable remediation when skills fall below certain benchmarks. Methods: Working with key individuals in the faculty, administration, and assessment department, a process of remediation was created and materials were produced that could be used by faculty and assessment staff to focus on a student's lack of knowledge, technique, or documentation in specific clinical skill areas. The primary goal was to create an individualized remediation plan that suits the specific needs of the student. Results: Utilization of the remediation center continues to increase. Referrals to the center for fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017 were 60, 125, and 126 students, respectively. Retesting rates after remediation continue to be high, with 98.3%, 95.2%, and 95.8% for fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. Conclusion: We developed and implemented a chiropractic remediation program to satisfy the need for objectively identifying and remediating clinical skill deficiencies. This remediation program experienced an increase in use in its initial 3 years of operation, indicating more inclusion of the program across the departments, clinics, and assessment. The outcome of remediation is still not clear because there are no consistent assessment measures in place to determine pre- and postremediation student performance.