Course Proposal
Workflow Step: UG Curriculum Committee, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Description
In this 4-week course, the physical therapist assistant (PTA) student integrates the didactic knowledge of all prerequisite courses into a full-time clinical experience. The purpose of the initial experience is to apply, integrate, and perform learned clinical skills on patients under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist (PT) and/or physical therapist assistant (PTA). Basic patient care skills, anatomy/biomechanics, therapeutic exercise, and selected assessment techniques are included. Selected pathological and disease conditions will be emphasized depending on the setting. Practice settings may include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehab hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient rehabilitation centers. Knowledge, skills, and professional behaviors learned during the didactic courses will be applied to direct patient/client care for uncomplicated patients with a high degree of supervision and guidance. The student will spend 144-160 hours in the clinical setting. (Pass/Fail)