An Exploration of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students' Belongingness in Clinical Education: A Validation Study

Dr. Poole is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Doctor of Physical Therapy Division. She is a board-certified clinical specialist in cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy, and her primary practice area is acute care. She has specific expertise in the care and management of patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders, especially patients who are medically complex or in critical care.

Dr. Poole is actively involved at the national and state level. She serves as a delegate for the American Physical Therapy Association’s national House of Delegates and as secretary for the Academy of Education’s Academic Faculty Special Interest Group. She also co-hosts “Acute Conversations,” the official podcast of APTA-Acute Care. She co-chairs the Acute Care Core Outcome Measures Knowledge Translation Task Force and is a member of the APTA Cross-Academy COVID-19 Core Outcome Measure Task Force.  Currently, she is working with a team to revise a clinical practice guideline for the management of individuals with heart failure.  She was also on the leadership team that authored “Adult Vital Sign Interpretation in Acute Care Guide” which was developed by a joint task force of APTA Acute Care and the Academy of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Physical Therapy.

Dr. Covington is a neurologic physical therapist and 2004 graduate of the Duke DPT Program. He joined the faculty in 2007 and served as the Associate Director of Clinical Education from 2007-2014.  During that time he led  DPT Clinical STEPs® (Student Team Experience in Practice) course series in the first six semesters of the curriculum which places teams of students in clinical practice during their course work.  The creation of this new clinical education curricular format included significant educational program planning, assessment and evaluation.   In 2015, Dr. Covington completed his PhD in Educational Research and Policy Analysis at North Carolina State University.  Study emphases included adult learning theory, educational program planning and assessment.  In 2015 Dr. Covington was named the Duke DPT Program's Director of Assessment and Evaluation.  In addition, Dr. Covington's experience as a neurologic PT is utilized in the classroom during our Foundational Examination and Neurologic Practice Management Course work. Dr. Covington's research interests in collaborative student learning, and professional development of physical therapists and their embodied use of movement in expert practice.