Clinical Reasoning

Catalog description

Clinical Reasoning is a 4-credit course offered in the fall semester of the 3rd year of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. The course is intended to foster and enhance students’ clinical reasoning in managing various types of patient populations. The majority of classes will be case-based. Students will use a comprehensive clinical reasoning framework to perform in-depth case analyses throughout the five elements of the patient management model. Emphasis is placed on the pillars of evidence-based practice – clinical expertise, patient’s values and preferences, as well as best research evidence. Students will need to apply and synthesize didactic knowledge covered in previous and concurrent physical therapy courses as well as clinical knowledge gained from prior clinical education experiences. At the completion of this course, students are expected to demonstrate sound clinical reasoning throughout the patient management process.