The free post-stroke clinic: A successful teaching and learning model

Healthcare students are often challenged in understanding the complexities associated with the diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident (CVA, stroke). Due to the diversity of clinical presentations following stroke and the intractable nature of some stroke sequelae, learning to effectively manage persons with stroke cannot always be translated solely through didactic methods. This paper describes a free post-stroke clinic, organized as part of the occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) curricula, that offered hands-on learning with actual patients with stroke, provided a needed service to the community, and established a pathway for university stroke research. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from students, faculty supervisors, and patients. Seventy-eight persons with stroke, of diverse ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, participated in our clinic over the course of a year. In postclinic questionnaires, all students (n = 119, 100%) reported that the clinic enhanced learning of stroke diagnosis; 98% of PT students (n = 67) and 94% of OT students (n = 52) indicated that the clinic prepared them for future clinical rotations. An average of 93% of patients who participated reported that they made functional progress during the clinic, and 96% indicated they would recommend the clinic to others. Faculty supervisors reported the clinic was ideal for assessing professional and clinical behavior of students. The free post-stroke clinic can serve as an effective learning and teaching model for other educational programs by offering significant benefit to individuals, universities, and communities while simultaneously providing a mechanism for reliable assessment of student readiness for clinical practice.