A mentor is different from a preceptor or clinical supervisor in that mentorship “is less instructional, focuses less on supervision and assessment of performance and more on positively influencing through role modeling and guidance”. (The Canadian Nurses Association Achieving Excellence in Professional Practice – a Guide to Preceptorship)

The mentorship model is a mentor-led clinical experience that provides a focused introduction to the Canadian workplace environment. It allows the Internationally Educated Physiotherapist (IEPT), through both observation and participation, to gain knowledge of and exposure to the role and scope of practice of a physiotherapist, and the continuum of care within the Alberta health system.

The mentor model refers specifically to the clinical practice experience that will be offered to the Bridging Certificate program students integrated into two courses in the program. This is a new model of clinical experience for therapists in Alberta, one which involves significantly fewer hours per week but over a longer period of time, and ongoing feedback rather than formal evaluation, (i.e. no Assessment of Clinical Experience or ACP type tool).

IEPTs come from a number of cultural backgrounds. Many students in the program come from India, Philippines, Nigeria, South America or Eastern Europe. Practice experience varies widely. Some have practiced only in their home country while others have worked in several other countries on their journey to Canada. Some have many years of clinical experience and some immigrated to Canada immediately after finishing their training. Many have worked as PT Assistants or Health Care Aids (HCAs) in Canada. Many IEPTs were educated and have worked in a very different model of care than what we are used to in Canada; one where directed practice and the medical model of care are the norm. Typically the IEPTs require knowledge and skills in the areas of the biopsychosocial model of care, evidence informed practice, client-centered care, clinical reasoning, autonomous practice and inter-professional teamwork. Understanding the cultural and workforce expectations in Canada are crucial to their success.

In the Bridging Certificate program, mentors will monitor the progress of the student according to the module learning objectives created in class and the objectives for student learning. The mentor ensures that students adhere to professional workplace behaviors and clinical site specific policies and procedures. They also provide the student with the cultural context of Canadian PT practice, integrating them into the social culture and facilitating transition from previous work contexts.

Mentors are required to attend 1 full day in-person on the academic site in first week of the first course (last week of August) for orientation to the program and meeting with their assigned student. The students will spend a total of ~ 40 hours per course (6 hours every 2 weeks) at the mentor’s clinical site. The actual format of the 6 hours may vary, i.e. ½ day per week or 1 day every 2 weeks.

Mentors need to be available for weekly or bi-weekly email or phone contact with instructor and/or course coordinator and available for contact from the student and / or instructor as per mentor’s schedule.

The mentor model requires no formal, comprehensive evaluation. As this clinical experience is part of a larger academic course, evaluation consists of ongoing feedback and confirmation of achievement of module goals. Evaluation will be based on specific learning goals from each module (for example, conduct a patient interview or perform a cardiorespiratory assessment). Module goals will be communicated to the mentors for monitoring during the clinical visits.  At the end of each course, a short narrative assessment will be required in a verbal consultation with the course coordinator and/or instructor.

The final course in the program (REHAB 524) is a 6-week full time clinical placement at the end of two terms of courses. This will be a regular clinical placement i.e. fulltime with full evaluation of performance. Normally, the mentor will not be the Clinical Instructor for this placement.

The amount of hands on involvement from the student is up the discretion of the mentor. The mentor should consider the student’s behavior, performance and learning goals for the course when deciding the amount of hands on student involvement. The expectation is that students will start out with observing the contextual factor, progressing from shadow-type activities, and then move to hands on care carrying a portion of the caseload for each visit.

The mentor will be accountable for the student at all times while they are on their designated mentor led clinical experience (6 hours/2 weeks) but this responsibility can be shared amongst colleagues and is often a great experience for the students. Each session does not have to be with the designated mentor only. A number of our IEPTs complete mentorships at an acute care hospital where the student is able to experience many different areas of practice

Yes, Bridging Certificate program students are covered under the same affiliation agreement as our U of A MScPT students.

For further information, please contact:
Michelle Barnes
780.492.7431
mbarnes@ualberta.ca