This full-time 12-week clinical education experience is the final clinical experience. This clinical education experience gives the students an opportunity to apply their didactic material and to interact with patients in a therapeutic setting. It is expected that the majority of patients encountered in this clinical experience will be those who have orthopedic, musculoskeletal/sports, cardiopulmonary, integumentary, and/or neuromuscular impairments, since students have fully completed those areas of the academic curriculum. At the completion of this experience students will be able to integrate the five elements of patient/client management (as outlined in the Guide to Physical Therapy Practice) -examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. Successful completion of this clinical education component is a requirement for completion of the physical therapy curriculum. This course is open only to students enrolled in the entry level DPT program.
Students register for PTY-718 and PTY-719 together. PTY-718 begins in the Fall semester and carries into the Spring. PTY-719 begins in the Spring semester after the completion of PTY-718. In order to take PTY-718 and PTY-719, students must have completed all didactic course work and the first clinical experience (PTY-608).