Clinical internship plays a role in the professional development of students in healthcare disciplines because it provides application of theory learned inside the classroom into practice needed in the clinical sites. However, there is little investigation of how to better prepare students for their clinical internship and how best to utilize the available clinical placements to develop necessary competencies for the performance of expected professional roles. The purpose of this research study was to determine the problems encountered by physical therapy students during clinical internship.

A qualitative research design was used to explore perceptions of the stakeholders on the clinical education process. A semi-structured instrument was used for the survey. Focus group discussions and interviews were audiotaped and verbatim transcripts were produced. There were 57 interns, 11 clinical instructors and supervisors, and 6 internship coordinators who were purposively selected to participate in this study. 

Seven themes emerged from all the surveys and focus group interviews. The main problems associated with the clinical experience of interns are theory-practice gap, initial clinical anxiety, insufficient clinical supervision, unclear professional role, difficulty coping in the workplace, heavy patient load, and poor communication skills. The identified areas of need within the internship program should be effectively addressed by stakeholders to promote students’ seamless transition from the academic to the clinical sites.

Keywords: clinical education, internship, physical therapy.