BENEFITS OF BECOMING A CLINICAL PARTNER

The McMaster PT program greatly values the time and expertise of our clinical partners. We can never come close to fully expressing the depth of our gratitude for your help in turning our students into effective clinicians, however, below are some “thank you perks” we’ve been able to put together for you.

Faculty Appointment “Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct)”

There are many benefits associated with having a faculty appointment, including free library access and free or discounted attendance at courses offered by the Program for Faculty Development. Click here for the faculty appointment information page, including the link to the application form, and click here for the McMaster CV template. Once the faculty appointment application is approved and processed, click here to access the Health Sciences Library.

Stipends

A stipend will be provided in the amount of $50/student/placement week (e.g., if the CI took one student for a 6-week full-time placement, the stipend would be $300). Payments are issued biannually, in the spring and fall. The default option is to issue the payment direct to the Clinical Instructor. However, if the facility requires the payment to be made to the facility, this can also be done. If there is more than one CI supervising a student, the funds will be split according to the CIs’ direction. The University’s central Accounts Payable department will issue a T4A in February each year to individuals who have a cumulative stipend amount of $500.00 or greater, as per the Canada Revenue guidelines.

Recognition at your Organization

Each year, PTs who demonstrate commitment to clinical supervision will a receive certificate of recognition.

 Access to Knowledge

We offer various open access workshops and presentations on varied topics of interest to our clinical community. Most of these workshops are free of charge for anyone taking a student on placement. The Clinical Education Team will also continually add valuable resources to the Clinical Partners pages of our website. You can also click here to see events at McMaster and elsewhere.

Program Development and Networking Opportunities

Our community partners have tremendous knowledge and experience to share to continuously improve the caliber of our student programming. You may therefore receive requests to participate in program development activities, such as being guest instructors, developing cases for our problem-based tutorials, designing innovative placement initiatives, reviewing placement evaluation systems, development and implementation of award programs, and many others. In addition to helping with program development, many clinicians report great value in being able to network with other PTs colleagues during these activities.

OSCARplus

McMaster University uses an online portal called OSCARplus to connect employers with students and grads.

Please visit the OSCARplus employers page for more information about how to post your job opportunity.

Why is Clinical Education Important?

Providing impactful learning experiences and real-life clinical skills is a powerful stepping stone on the way from turning students into physiotherapists. For me clinical teaching encourages clarity of thought, reinforces the application of best evidence in clinical settings and allows for the exchange of ideas with a fresh and questioning mind. I am proud of the work physiotherapists do and feel strongly that this will not continue without our current body of physiotherapists fostering strong entry-to-practice candidates.

Meaghan MacKie, MSc (PT)

Remarks from a Clinical Instructor and Alumni

Remarks from a Physiotherapy Second Year Student