Physical Therapy: Using the SCIPAI as a Formative Tool and Early Clinical Warning Signal

This webinar introduced the Student and Clinical Instructor Performance Assessment Instrument (SCIPAI), a formative assessment tool available in Exxat Prism that enables physical therapy programs to monitor both student and clinical instructor performance throughout clinical education experiences. The session covered how the SCIPAI complements summative assessment tools such as the CPI, CIET, and PTMAX by providing regular performance snapshots — including ratings and supporting comments on supervision, feedback, evaluation, treatment, communication, and professional behavior — rather than a single comprehensive assessment at midterm or final. The webinar also demonstrated the SCIPAI workflows in Exxat Prism for students, clinical instructors, and Directors of Clinical Education (DCEs), including how DCEs can review individual SCIPAI submissions in real time and download cohort-level data to an Excel spreadsheet for efficient monitoring.

Key takeaways from the session include:

• Early identification and resolution of concerns: The SCIPAI enables programs to detect student or clinical instructor issues before they escalate, fostering a culture of professional, collegial conversation that empowers students to address concerns with supervisors early in the clinical experience.
• Contemporary validity and CAPTE compliance: A regional validation study published in the Journal of Education, Evaluation and Health Professions confirmed contemporary validity across all six dimensions using 811 student and CI pairs, and the SCIPAI directly addresses 2024 CAPTE standards related to supervision, feedback, clinical teaching effectiveness, and student performance monitoring.
• Accessible and efficient: The SCIPAI takes five to ten minutes to complete and five to ten minutes to discuss, is available at no additional cost to Exxat Prism subscribers, and can be activated by contacting Exxat Prism support or your account manager.

View the 3 SCIPAI Workflow Videos Here:

1. DCE Workflow
2. Clinical Instructor Workflow
3. Student Workflow

Dr. Sean Gallivan is the Director of Clinical Education at the University of Dayton, with over 15 years of clinical experience in inpatient rehabilitation and 16 years in clinical education leadership, specializing in student and clinical instructor performance assessment research.