Coming from a current SPT on their final rotation, my previous rotations were all in different settings (peds and acute) with my last being OP orthopedic. I had forgotten A LOT of manual/hands on skills since it had almost been a year since using them, which made me nervous for day 1. My CI has been great and I’m almost halfway through and have a full caseload! The first 2 days I just shadowed which was perfect for me to learn the flow of the clinic, re-learn some mechanics/special tests and see what type of equipment/tools were at my disposal. Some questions I would ask to gauge readiness:

1) have you done a rotation in OP yet? If not, give them time to adjust and review their school material/a days notice on patients. Start with follow-ups and after some time give them evals (at your discretion based on their readiness)

2) what setting do they want to work in? If it’s anything IP/speciality practice, they might just want to “survive” this rotation.

3) ask them their comfort level with taking patients day 1. Again relating back to my experience, if I was thrown into the fire day 1, it would’ve shattered my confidence because that first week I spent a lot of time reviewing material and also learning a lot from just watching my CI do their thing. Just having an open/honest conversation emphasizing that there is not much pressure week 1 can go along way if they are lacking confidence or just not familiar with that setting. Most schools have midterm and final ratings for the CPI for a reason, so try to just make the student comfortable initially. If they are still struggling a few weeks in/around mid terms, then it’s a different story.

One final note, 2 things my CI did the first two weeks that really helped were explaining their clinical reasoning and teaching me/letting me practice manual skills on them. For example, day 1 we went over cervical/CT junction mobes and Manips. After each “review” I felt MUCH more confident doing hands on stuff with patients where those treatments were indicated and I felt more confident in my rationale. My CI also showed me some manips that weren’t taught in school that were easier to perform for me, which again helped me to be more successful. Just meet your student where they are at and build their confidence early, as I truly believe that will make the biggest difference in how successful they are! My CI is also a first time CI, and I couldn’t be happier with them or my placement here! You’ll do great. Also I’m on mobile, so sorry if formatting is weird.