Clinical Education & Resources

Clinical education experiences are designed to maximize the student’s abilities to apply newly acquired patient/client/client management skills in clinical settings. The educational institution depends upon the clinical sites to provide carefully supervised learning experiences through which the student has the opportunity to apply the principles learned in the classroom. The clinical site is also a highly conducive environment in which to develop professional attitudes, values, and ethics; seek practitioner role models; and to observe and participate in administrative, managerial, and clinical research spheres. The problem-solving approach should form the basis of these experiences.

The student, with the clinical instructor as guide, should have the opportunity to gather all relevant information about the patient/client through examination; make clinical judgments from the information gathered; organize these judgments into a physical therapy diagnosis; establish a prognosis and goals through this process; and plan an appropriate program of intervention to attain these goals. Inherent in this approach is concern for the individual student’s needs. The clinical instructor should evaluate the student and communicate recognized strengths and weaknesses, as the student strives for excellence in performance as a physical therapist.

The professional curriculum shall prepare the student to meet the following goals:

• To develop safe, logical, and effective patient/client management skills in a variety of health care settings.
• To develop effective skills for clinical teaching and lifelong learning.
• To develop a strong sense of professional values which fosters an ethical approach to the practice of physical therapy.

Students are responsible for costs of transportation, housing, meals, uniforms and other expenses associated with each clinical education experience.

For more information regarding the clinical education component of the curriculum, please refer to the Student Handbook.

Last updated: 6/22/2021