The Physical Therapy program at Georgia Southern University is a full-time doctoral program offered on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah, Georgia. There are 36 students admitted to each class. The program consists of nine semesters of academic coursework, including three full-time clinical affiliations (with a minimum of 32 weeks of full-time clinical practice) and several additional clinical experiences.
Upon completion of the program, all students are awarded a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. All program graduates are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination and apply for state licensure in all jurisdictions.
This program uses an external application system.
The professional curriculum consists of two phases: “systems” and “life span”. Courses introduced during the first year use a systems approach with cases in musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, neuromuscular and integumentary physical therapy. As closely as possible, courses are coordinated so that students are instructed in the anatomy, pathology and diagnosis related to specific joints or systems of the body at the same time.
During the third semester, students are given the opportunity to practice and integrate their professional skills in a simulated clinic course, case management. (Use of this experiential learning technique has been presented at international meetings.) Following the completion of the first year, students have an 8-week full-time clinical experience, allowing them to further solidify and integrate the classroom material in a clinical setting.
During the second year and early third year of study, students explore practice topics in greater depth within the context of a life span approach, covering content from diseases of children to impairments associated with aging. These advanced courses are followed by two final full-time 11-week clinical experiences, with a return to campus for final coursework at the end of the program.
The curriculum is further integrated by team teaching, a feature of several of the courses. Besides providing linkages between courses, this enables the faculty to serve as role models for the advantages associated with working together as a team.
| COURSE | CREDIT HOURS |
|---|---|
| YEAR 1, SUMMER | |
| PHTH 7101: Functional Anatomy of the Cardiopulmonary System | 5 |
| PHTH 7111: Introduction to Pathophysiology I | 2 |
| PHTH 7131: Basic Cardiopulmonary Patient Care | 6 |
| PHTH 7161: Physical Therapy Practice Issues I | 1 |
| PHTH 7181: Clinical Practicum I | 1 |
| YEAR 1, FALL | |
| PHTH 7202: Functional Anatomy of Axial and Appendicular Regions | 6 |
| PHTH 7212: Introduction to Pathophysiology II | 2 |
| PHTH 7232: Basic Orthopedic Patient Care | 4 |
| PHTH 7232L: Basic Orthopedic Patient Care Lab | 4 |
| PHTH 7262: Evidence-based Practice 1 | 1 |
| PHTH 7282: Clinical Practicum II | 1 |
| YEAR 1, SPRING | |
| PHTH 7303: Functional Anatomy of the Nervous System | 4 |
| PHTH 7313: Intro Pathophysiology 3 | 2 |
| PHTH 7333: Basic Neurologic and Integumentary Patient Care | 8 |
| PHTH 7363: Evidence-based Practice 2 | 1 |
| PHTH 7383: Clinical Practicum III | 1 |
| PHTH 7390: Phys Ther Case Management | 3 |
| YEAR 2, SUMMER | |
| PHTH 8400: Evidence-based Practice 3 | 2 |
| PHTH 8481: Supervised Clinical Educ 1 | 8 |
| PHTH 8491: Patient Care Synthesis 1 | 2 |
| YEAR 2, FALL | |
| PHTH 8501: Clinical Medicine I | 3 |
| PHTH 8531: Advanced Patient Care 1: Geriatrics | 8 |
| PHTH 8561: Implmt Life Concpts Phy Ther 1 | 2 |
| PHTH 9551: Therapeutic Exercise 1 | 1 |
| PHTH 9001: Special Topics in Physical Therapy | 1 |
| YEAR 2, SPRING | |
| PHTH 8602: Clinical Medicine II | 3 |
| PHTH 8632: Advanced Patient Care 2: Adults | 8 |
| PHTH 8662: Implemt of Lifespan Concepts 2 | 2 |
| PHTH 9562: Therapeutic Exercise 2 | 1 |
| PHTH 9001: Special Topics in Physical Therapy | 1 |
| YEAR 3, SUMMER | |
| PHTH 9703: Clinical Medicine III | 3 |
| PHTH 9733: Advanced Patient Care 3: Pediatrics | 6 |
| PHTH 9763: Life span Concepts III | 2 |
| PHTH 9500: Leadership & Management in Physical Therapy 1 | 2 |
| YEAR 3, FALL | |
| PHTH 9804: Clinical Medicine IV | 1 |
| PHTH 9834: Advanced Patient Care 4: Complex Patients | 2 |
| PHTH 9882: Supervised Clinical Education II | 10 |
| YEAR 3, SPRING | |
| PHTH 9501: Leadership and Management in Physical Therapy 2 | 1 |
| PHTH 9983: Supervised Clinical Education III | 10 |
| PHTH 9992: Patient Care Synthesis 2 | 3 |
All potential and enrolled students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program must meet intellectual, physical, and social competencies in order to provide safe patient care and successfully complete the program.
| SKILL | STANDARD | EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITIES |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | Critical thinking ability sufficient for clinical judgment. | Transfer knowledge from one situation to another. Process information, evaluate outcomes, problem-solve, and prioritize. Use long and short-term memory, identify cause-effect relationships. Plan activities for others. Synthesize knowledge and skills. Sequence information. |
| Analytical Thinking | Ability to process information, evaluate outcomes, and problem solve. | Transfer knowledge from one situation to another. Prioritize tasks. Use long and short-term memory |
| Reading | Ability to read and understand written documents. | Reading policies and protocols. |
| Arithmetic Competence | Measuring, counting, computing. | Reading and understanding charts, digital displays, graphs. Measure time, count rates, use measuring tools. |
| Interpersonal | Interpersonal skills sufficient to interact with individuals, families, and groups from a variety of social, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds. | Negotiate interpersonal conflict. Respect cultural diversity in patients. Establish rapport with patients and co-workers. |
| Communication | Communication abilities sufficient for interaction with others in verbal and written form as measured by the Doctor of Physical Therapy program professional behavior evaluation, CPI, and course instructors. | Explain health conditions, diagnostic and treatment procedures and initiate health teaching. Interpret and document patient responses to health status. Convey information through written and oral reports. Interact with others (patients, family members, health care workers) in person, on the phone, and in writing. |
| Physical Endurance | Physical abilities sufficient to stand for multiple hours, sustain repeated movements, and maintain physical tolerance for entire work shift. | Standing multiple hours at a patient’s side during examination or therapy session |
| Physical Strength | Physical abilities sufficient to lift, support, and move heavy objects. | Exert 100 lbs. of force occasionally, 50 lbs. frequently, and 25 lbs. of force regularly. Support 25 lbs. of weight (e.g., ambulate patient). Lift 25 lbs. of weight (e.g., transfer patient). Move light and heavy objects. Carry equipment/supplies. Defend self against combative patient. |
| Mobility | Physical abilities sufficient to move from room to room, maneuver in small spaces, and maintain physical tolerance for repetitive movements and demands of the work shift. Sustained standing. | Move within confined spaces. Sit or stand and maintain balance. Reach above shoulders and below waist. Twist, bend, stoop, or climb on stool or stairs, and move quickly in response to potential emergencies. Use upper and lower body strength. Squeeze with hands and fingers. |
| Motor Skills | Gross and fine motor skills sufficient to provide safe and effective examination and treatment of patients and complete documentation. | Grasp, pick up objects with hands. Manipulate small objects with hands/fingers. Write with pen/pencil. Sit and maintain balance. Maintain balance in a variety of postures. Reach above shoulders, reach below waist. Walk with and observe patient on a variety of surfaces and heights. Reach, manipulate, and operate mechanisms such as lifts, treatment tables. Self-mobility with capability of propelling wheelchairs, stretchers, heavy equipment for extended periods of time. Type on computer keyboard. |
| Hearing | Auditory ability sufficient to monitor and assess health needs. | Hear normal and faint voices. Hear faint body sounds such as blood pressure, heart beat, etc. Ability to receive spoken communication when not able to read lips. Hear auditory alarms such as monitors, fire alarms, and call bells. |
| Visual Skills | Visual ability sufficient for observation and assessment necessary for safe patient care. | Visualize objects from 20 inches to 20 feet away. Use depth perception and peripheral vision. Distinguish colors and color intensity. Read and understand written documents. |
| Tactile | Tactile ability sufficient for physical assessment and equipment manipulation. | Feel vibrations to detect pulses, etc. Detect temperature. Feel differences in sizes and shapes and detect surface characteristics. |
| Smell | Detect environmental and patient odors. | Detect odors from patient (e.g. foul smelling drainage, alcohol on breath, etc.). Detect smoke. Detect gases or noxious smells. |
| Emotional Stability | Emotional stability sufficient to tolerate rapidly changing conditions and environmental stress. | Establish appropriate therapeutic interpersonal boundaries. Provide patients with emotional support. Adapt to changing environment and stress. Deal with the unexpected. Focus attention on task. Monitor own emotions. Perform multiple tasks concurrently. Handle strong emotions. |
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:
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.