Clinical Practice I

Catalog description

Clinical Practice I is a 6-week, full time clinical practice course during the Fall semester of the second year of the DPT program under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist clinical instructor (CI). The student attends a clinical practice facility for six consecutive weeks with specific hours arranged by each facility. This clinical experience is designed to provide the student an opportunity to develop professional behaviors and communication skills, apply the patient management model, develop gross and specific examination and intervention skills, develop documentation skills, and begin to develop clinical decision-making and critical thinking skills within the content of evidence-based practice. Emphasis during this clinical practice is on the evaluation and treatment of patients, including the areas of basic examination and evaluation skills, ambulation training, transfer training, the administration of modalities, and in administering therapeutic exercise. Students are expected to recall and apply information from previous coursework in a clinically relevant manner to critically analyze problems within a variety of clinical settings. Upon completion of the clinical experience, students are expected to synthesize course content in such a way as to demonstrate development of the generic abilities and core values necessary for becoming a physical therapist.