Doctor of Physical Therapy

This course will address human anatomy from a structural and functional perspective, incorporating both micro- and macro-anatomy formats. An emphasis will be placed on relationships between musculoskeletal, neurological, and vascular systems through the lens of the movement science. Laboratory sessions include both dry and wet lab exploration of models, diagrams, images, and cadavers.

This course will cover cellular and systems physiology from a normative and pathological perspective. Human body systems are examined with an emphasis on the cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. Additional topics include the genitourinary and renal, gastrointestinal, hematologic, hepatic, immune, integumentary, and lymphatic systems. Pathophysiology considerations for viral and bacterial infections, genetics, immunology, oncology, and chronic non-communicable disease will be examined. Human response and adaptation to aerobic and anaerobic exercise will be integrated into the learning content for each system.

This course will introduce students to comprehensive human movement and biomechanical analyses including muscle function and joint kinematics. An emphasis on both isolated and functional movement of the limbs and appendicular skeleton, including gait, sit to stand, occupational and functional tasks will be covered. Lab activities include kinematic analysis using technology for patients with a variety of movement disorders.

The purpose of this course is for students to learn the fundamentals of how the human nervous system is constructed (neuroanatomy) and how it works (neurophysiology). Clinical examples will be utilized throughout the course to illustrate the relationship between “neuroscience” and the practice of physical therapy. Lectures will provide an overview of the human nervous system, with primary focus on the central nervous system. The peripheral nervous system will also be discussed. During structured laboratory sessions, students will examine virtual vs “wet” specimens, models, and images of human brain and spinal cord. Additional laboratory sessions will address clinical aspects of human neuroscience including psychomotor skill development for completion of components of the neurological screening examination.

This course will introduce students to fundamental aspects of physical therapy practice necessary for beginning immersion into the clinical environment. Emphasis is placed on safety principles related to infection prevention, identification of lines/tubes, selection and fit of assistive devices, and beginning patient handling skills for bed mobility, transfers, ambulation, and wheelchair mobility. Learners will also develop familiarity with various examination procedures including vital signs assessment, palpation, range of motion assessment with goniometry, and muscle strength assessment with manual muscle testing and dynamometry. This course includes part-time integrated clinical education (ICE) hours for students to develop their professional identity and reinforce laboratory content.

This course will introduce the student to the management of extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Learners will examine various extremity neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, surgical procedures, and injuries. An emphasis will be placed on the examination principles and progress psychomotor skills related to palpation, and evidence-based interventions emphasizing person-centered education, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercise of the extremities. These principles will be integrated into a standardized clinical reasoning model for addressing individuals with extremity related musculoskeletal disorders.

This course will explore soft tissue techniques, exercise testing and prescription in the context of the physical therapist's practice.  Exercise components of frequency, intensity, time, type, volume, and progression will be examined in depth in order to address deficits in range of motion, flexibility, muscle performance and cardiorespiratory endurance.  The learner will be introduced to the aquatic medium for performing exercise along with the principles of neuromotor control and learning. Behavioral strategies to overcome barriers to physical activity and exercise will also be emphasized.     

This course will introduce students to the use of thermal, acoustic, mechanical, electromagnetic, and electrotherapeutic biophysical agents in clinical practice. Clinical reasoning is emphasized for the appropriate selection of biophysical agents based on current best evidence of physiological effects, recommended dosage, and efficacy as well as considerations of patient characteristics including indications and contraindications. Students will also learn appropriate documentation standards for use of biophysical agents. Laboratory sessions emphasize the safe and effective application of biophysical agents for patient care.

This course will build upon the foundations learned in Therapeutic Interventions I by expanding on strategies for developing strength and aerobic conditioning along the spectrum of a person’s presentation. Modifications to an exercise program will be considered for children, adolescents, pregnancy, older adults, and other special conditions. The student will be exposed to commonly used exercise equipment. Special attention will be placed on outcome testing and training necessary to return a patient to sport or occupation, as well as therapist response to a medical emergency within the clinical setting.

This course will introduce the student to topics and content related to the management of musculoskeletal disorders involving the spine. Learners will examine the clinical application of human biomechanics, functional movement, and examination principles and progress their psychomotor skills related to palpation, and evidence-based interventions emphasizing patient education, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercise of the spine. These principles will be integrated into a standardized clinical reasoning model for addressing patients/clients with spine related musculoskeletal disorders. The goal of this course is to enable the physical therapy student to examine and treat patients/clients with various spine related musculoskeletal disorders safely and effectively.

This course will expand upon the neurological examination and introduce students to physical therapy rehabilitation principles for patients with neurological conditions, with emphasis on vestibular conditions, cerebrovascular accident, and spinal cord injury. Students will apply the patient management clinical reasoning model alongside the application of tests and measures to clinical practice. The principles of motor learning, neuroplasticity, and compensation will be examined throughout the recovery process and continuum of care. Lab sessions will integrate hands on clinical tests and measures with evidence-based treatment techniques.

This course will introduce clinical reasoning as it relates to medical screening and differential diagnosis within a physical therapist’s practice. The clinical reasoning model will emphasize potential flags that could signal specific diseases and syndromes and the need for referral and communication with other healthcare providers. Considerations for treatment plan modifications and patient monitoring are also discussed. Lab sessions provide students with the psychomotor skills necessary for thorough medical screening.

This course will provide the student with an overview of treating individuals suffering from persistent pain conditions and associated complicating factors. Learners will explore concepts related to the physiology of pain, pain mechanisms, pain diagnoses, fear avoidant behaviors and the biopsychosocial model. Clinical application of modern pain neuroscience education as well as evidence-informed pain assessment and treatment will be performed. The goal of this course is to enable the physical therapy student to treat individuals suffering from various pain conditions as part of an interprofessional medical team confidently and effectively.

This course will introduce students to fundamental principles of physical therapy research and critical thinking including literature search, critique, research methodology and dissemination. Students begin to formulate clinical questions, examine research methods, and learn how to critically appraise the evidence. The student is introduced to the following topics in the research process: basic research design, issues of reliability and validity, diagnostic utility of clinical tests, and fundamentals of conducting a literature review. The goal of this course is to foster the student to become an intelligent consumer of basic scientific design and appraisal of medical literature.

This course will introduce students to the Physical Therapy profession covering topics related to history, the professional association, professionalism, ethics, advocacy, core values and juris prudence. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is also introduced and related to patient/client assessment, management, and documentation. Aspects of billing, coding and reimbursement are covered as well as introduction to other members of the healthcare team, including the physical therapist assistant. Finally, fundamentals of competent person-centered education and communication are addressed.

This course will provide students with an introduction to the physical therapist’s role in health promotion and wellbeing through select lifestyle medicine topics. Learners will investigate injury and disease prevention strategies and models, social determinants of health, sleep and nutrition, ergonomics, and the impact of psychosocial factors on health and disability. The goal of this course is to empower the physical therapy student to take an active role in inspiring healthy behaviors in a person-centered manner.

This course will explore principles of entrepreneurship, business administration, and leadership for physical therapists, including market analysis, value-based care, billing, and management within the context of healthcare systems and clinics. Students will gain knowledge of strategic planning, organizational structures, fiscal management, marketing, and legal considerations as they pertain to the physical therapy profession. Special topics include telehealth, conflict resolution, change management strategies and communication concepts both internal and external to the business entity.

This course will introduce the student to contemporary theories of human neuromotor development across the lifespan. The course will address typical and atypical developmental directions, progressions, and typical milestones of both gross and fine motor skills. Aspects of gait, balance and the pain experience will be examined as they affect a person throughout their lives. Normal physiological changes associated with aging will be discussed from a systems perspective.

This course will cover the role of prescription drugs in clinical care throughout the physical rehabilitation process. Pharmacokinetics including specific actions, indications, safety, and side effects are covered within the context of physical therapist practice. An in depth understanding of medications and the impact on timing of rehabilitation interventions alongside a systems-based approach to care will be covered.

This course will provide students with advanced clinical reasoning and intervention skills for the management of patients with neuromusculoskeletal conditions. The integration of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, pain science and lifestyle medicine knowledge and skills learned in previous courses are honed and expanded upon through case-based learning activities. Students will refine their exercise prescription and thrust and non-thrust manual therapy skills as well as learn basic trigger point dry needling skills for the treatment of soft tissue dysfunction. The goal of this course is to enable the physical therapy student to utilize clinical decision-making to integrate these interventions into person-centered clinical treatment plans safely and effectively.

This course will advance the students ability to assess and develop a plan of care for individuals experiencing neurological deficits from select diagnoses including multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, peripheral neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease and other select parkinsonism syndromes. Topics covered include examination, evaluation, diagnosis, pharmacological management, clinical decision-making, prognosis, standardized assessments, outcome measures and interventions.

This course will advance the students’ ability to assess and develop a plan of care for individuals experiencing neurological deficits from select diagnoses including concussion, traumatic brain injury, dementia, brain tumors, and other rare or complex neurological conditions. Topics covered include examination, evaluation, diagnosis, pharmacological management, clinical decision-making, prognosis, standardized assessments, outcome measures and interventions. Special emphasis is placed on considerations of health policy, billing, and legal requirements for persons with neurological pathologies and for their caregivers.

This course will provide the student with in-depth knowledge of the unique aspects of individuals with cardiovascular, metabolic, and pulmonary contributions to movement dysfunction across the lifespan. Learners will explore the pathophysiology, risk factor management, medical and surgical treatments of the cardiovascular, metabolic, and pulmonary systems. Students will engage in activities related to the physical therapist’s examination, assessment, and management of the individual with cardiopulmonary and metabolic disorders across the continuum of care.

This course will present fundamental concepts for the physical therapy management of children with conditions of the various body systems. Emphasis is placed on management of children with musculoskeletal, neurological, and/or cardiopulmonary impairments. A normal developmental framework serves as the course foundation. Students apply the elements of patient/client management in physical therapy practice, including screening, examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, plan of care, intervention, and outcomes related to the pediatric person.

This course will introduce the specific elements of applied research design and statistics. Students become familiar with relevant research statistics to apply and synthesize the scientific literature. Items related to measurement, statistical analysis, critical inquiry, and strength of evidence are presented. These concepts are applied in the critical evaluation of published physical therapy literature. The goal of this course is to advance the student to become confident in consuming scientific statistical concepts and appraisal of medical literature.

This course attempts to help students provide answers to the question: “What does it mean to be an ethical healthcare professional?” Geared specifically for doctoral level healthcare students, the course begins by delving into ethical theory and then quickly synthesizing the codes of ethics of healthcare professions. Students then analyze what it means to go beyond the code of ethics in their own practice in order to be an ethical healthcare professional, aided by concepts from traditional ethical theory, as well as more recent considerations in healthcare ethics, including issues pertaining to social justice, phenomenological research, and particularly studies on what it means to empathize with individuals in a healthcare setting in order to provide person-centered care

This course is the first full-time clinical education experience (CEE) under the supervision of a licensed Physical Therapist Clinical Instructor. All students will have participated in >120-hours of part-time integrated clinical education experiences prior to this course. As DPT890 is an integrated experience within the curriculum, all academic coursework has not yet been completed. This is a structured, six-week, mentored clinical education experience that allows students to apply physical therapy principles learned in the first 4-terms of didactic work. This experience could occur in a variety of practice settings (excluding settings that focus only on specialty practice). Examples of settings include, but are not limited to acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, home health care agencies, outpatient clinics, schools, and skilled nursing facilities. This experience emphasizes development of clinical reasoning skills while performing fundamental person-centered care using the patient management model. During this experience students should gain confidence in completing comprehensive individualized screening, examination, evaluation, plan of care development, intervention, and re-assessment for individuals with a variety of movement related conditions representative of those conditions commonly seen in practice, while abiding by physical therapy practice standards.

This course will cover the use and interpretation of imaging modalities and its impact on clinical decision making for the physical therapist. Guidelines for the selection and interpretation of imaging studies including radiographs, magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and diagnostic ultrasound will be covered. Lab activities include the use and interpretation of diagnostic ultrasound images most commonly seen in clinical practice.

This course will cover the physical therapy management of individuals with integumentary and lymphatic conditions. A specific emphasis is placed on factors that influence tissue healing alongside the examination, evaluation, and overall person-centered care for all types of integumentary lesions seen in a physical therapist’s practice to include venous and arterial insufficiency ulcers, pressure ulcers, neuropathic ulcers, and burns. Students will also learn assessment and treatment techniques for management of lymphatic conditions.

This course will introduce evidence regarding the indications and considerations necessary for the use of orthotic and prosthetic devices to support a rehabilitation plan of care. Students will be exposed to orthoses for various cranial, spinal, and extremity conditions. A special emphasis is placed on upper and lower extremity amputations and prosthetics, focusing on movement analysis. Treatment planning as it pertains to the types of prosthetics and orthotics will be covered including fitting, device utilization, exercise programs, gait analysis, and training.

This course will reinforce principles of physical therapy management covered in prior courses and applied specifically to the older adult. Normal physiological effects of aging of each body system will be compared to pathophysiology and related to how they affect the human movement system. The use of health and safety screening tools will be promoted as well as evaluation, assessment, care planning and coordination for the older adult. An overview of end-of-life issues, reimbursement models, and community resources will conclude the course.

This course will expand upon concepts introduced in pathophysiology and previous systems-based courses. Students will learn to address multiple disease pathologies and co-morbidities as they compound to produce medically complex situations. The learner will examine implications for the physical therapist management of the medically complex person across the continuum of care including inpatient, outpatient, home-based, and institutional settings. This course will take a problem-based learning approach which will include the musculoskeletal, nervous, cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, gastrointestinal, hepatic, renal, lymphatic, immune, reproductive, and integumentary systems as well as disorders related to infectious disease, substance abuse, immunodeficiencies, oncology, and surgical procedures.

This course will reinforce and further develop lessons covered in Professional Foundations I. Additional topics include examination of licensure and scope of practice for the physical therapist and physical therapist assistant. This course will also explore concepts of being person-centered, including the duty to refer and report illegal, unethical, and unprofessional behavior. Leadership styles will be explored as it relates to oneself, the profession, and society. Social determinants of health will be reviewed through a population health lens and students will learn the value of cultural competency to physical therapy practice. The student will be exposed to advocacy at the national, state, and local level and will develop a plan for lifelong learning post-graduation.

This course is the second of three full-time clinical education experiences (CEE) under the supervision of a licensed Physical Therapist Clinical Instructor. All students will have participated in >120-hours of part-time integrated clinical education experiences and 240 hours of full-time clinical experience prior to this course. This is a structured, twelve-week, mentored clinical education experience that allows students to increase their experience working with patients in the clinical setting. This experience could occur in any practice setting. During this experience students should progress in confidence and independence while completing comprehensive individualized screening, examination, evaluation, plan of care development, intervention, and re-assessment for individuals with a variety of movement related conditions representative of those conditions commonly seen in practice, while abiding by physical therapy practice standards. This experience emphasizes progression of clinical reasoning skills and evidence-informed practice while performing fundamental person-centered care using the patient management model.

This course is the final of three full-time clinical education experience (CEE) under the supervision of a licensed Physical Therapist Clinical Instructor. All students will have participated in >120-hours of part-time integrated clinical education experiences and 720 hours of full-time clinical experience prior to this course. This is a structured, twelve-week, mentored clinical education experience that allows students to increase their experience working with patients in the clinical setting. This experience could occur in any practice setting. During this experience students should further progress in confidence and independence while completing comprehensive individualized screening, examination, evaluation, plan of care development, intervention, and re-assessment for individuals with a variety of movement related conditions representative of those conditions commonly seen in practice, while abiding by physical therapy practice standards. This experience emphasizes continued progression of clinical reasoning skills and evidence-informed practice while performing fundamental person-centered care using the patient management model

This two-part course will integrate the didactic, clinical, and evidence-based knowledge from this curriculum applied to a scholarly project. Learners will write a proposal and background during this course that will result in either a case report or assist in a research study conducted at Bellin College. This course also integrates the initiation of a co-curricular portfolio designed to aid in the reflection of learning and professional development that occurred during the time in the DPT program both inside and outside the classroom.

This two-part course will integrate didactic, clinical, and evidence-based knowledge from the DPT curriculum applied to a scholarly project. Learners will disseminate a case report or assist in a research study conducted at Bellin College. This course also includes the final submission of a co-curricular portfolio designed to aid in the reflection of learning and professional development that occurred during the time in the DPT program both inside and outside the classroom.