Clinical Education Program
The Clinical Education Program at Duquesne University is designed to offer the student in physical therapy an opportunity to master skills and abilities necessary to become competent, compassionate, patient centered practitioners who are prepared to practice autonomously offering excellent physical therapy services in a variety of practice venues. The program seeks to do this by developing and monitoring quality in four areas:
- Comprehensive direction and supervision of the clinical education experiences
- Offering professional, diverse and educationally sound clinical education environments with qualified clinical instructors
- Providing communication, education and training to clinical instructors
- Effective communication and preparation of students for entry into their professional roles as students in the clinical setting
Professionalism
Professionalism is an important component of physical therapy education and practice. Students in the Duquesne University physical therapy program are expected to adopt the principles of professionalism that are the essence of physical therapy practice. These include accountability, altruism, compassion, commitment to learning, integrity, respect, responsibility, and self-discipline. Examples of professional behavior are:
- Dressing professionally when visiting a clinic, hospital, or other patient care site. Professional dress includes conservative clothing and accessories, enclosed shoes, removal of hats and visible piercings, covering of tattoos, clean and conservative hair.
- Speaking professionally when calling sites and requesting shadowing and/or volunteer experiences.
- Writing thank you letters to clinicians who have offered you a shadowing and/or volunteer experience.
- Being on time for all appointments, clinic visits, and other educational experiences.
- Using courteous, respectful, compassionate language.
Format of clinical education
The DPT includes 5 clinical education experiences, for a total of 40 weeks.
- Clinical Education I- 6 weeks - Year 2 of Professional Phase
- Clinical Education II - 6 weeks - Year 2 of Professional Phase
- Clinical Education III - 8 weeks - Year 3 of Professional Phase
- Clinical Education IV - 8 weeks - Year 3 of Professional Phase
- Clinical Education V - 12 weeks - Year 3 of Professional Phase
Each student will have at least one clinical experience in each of the following clinical settings: acute care, rehabilitation, and outpatient physical therapy. Other experiences include but are not limited to: orthopedics, pediatrics, oncology, cardiopulmonary, geriatrics, and home health care. Students must plan for at least one clinical education experience outside of the Pittsburgh area (beyond a 75 mile radius) to allow for a more diverse learning experience and for greater opportunity to become excellent in physical therapy. The Department of Physical Therapy within the John G. Rangos School of Health Sciences maintains contracts with more than four hundred clinical sites. These sites are located throughout the continental US, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, etc. but are primarily located in the State of Pennsylvania. Students are responsible for costs related to travel and housing as well as medical tests and clearances that a clinical site requires.
Shadowing or Volunteer Requirements
Prior to admission, prospective students are required to have participated in at least 40 hours of shadowing, volunteering, or employment under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist. In addition, students are required to have participated in another 60 hours before April of their third academic year. These experiences must be in at least two different physical therapy settings such as outpatient, acute care inpatient (hospital), pediatric, skilled nursing facility, and rehabilitation centers.
The purpose of expecting the student to participate in a variety of physical therapy practice settings for a total of 100 hours is to assure the student is well acclimated to the physical therapy profession prior to the beginning of the professional phase of the curriculum.
Students should be aware when scheduling volunteer and work experiences that these locations may not be used for clinical education.
Communicating with Sites
Students are not allowed to contact any site without prior approval by the ACCE. Students who disregard this policy and independently contact a site regarding a possible clinical affiliation for themselves will NOT be allowed to affiliate at that site, even if the site gives approval.
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