DOCTOR
OF PHYSICAL THERAPY
Program Requirements
Related Links:
La Crosse Medical Health
Science Consortium
Physical therapists are health
professionals educated at the doctoral level with expertise in
the area of diagnosing and treating patients who have movement
disorders. A professional doctoral degree involves extensive
study over a wide range of courses integrating basic sciences
with skilled professional practice. The practitioner must
exhibit strong clinical skills and reasoning based on
evidence-based rationale. Graduates will be able to enter
practice with skills required to independently examine,
evaluate, diagnose, render a prognosis, and assess outcomes for
interventions in the management of impairments, functional
limitations, and disabilities of the cardiopulmonary,
musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, and integumentary systems.
Graduates will also be able to advocate and negotiate on behalf
of high-quality health care, the consumer, and the profession.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy degree
represents a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This
collaborative inter-institutional relationship is designed to
maximize educational opportunities, promote the use of shared
resources for research and scholarly activities, and enhance
creative endeavors for students, program graduates and faculty.
The graduate-level professional curriculum
is nine semesters long. Six semesters will emphasize classroom
and laboratory learning and take place on the UW-L campus. The
final three semesters (36 weeks) will be comprised of
internships that take place off-campus and culminate with
students returning to campus for a one-week debriefing session
where they will present an assigned clinical project. The
purpose of the internship is to allow students to mentor under a
master clinician to ensure that didactic knowledge translates
into skill. Internship sites are selected based upon their
learning environment and clinical instructors and are located
nationwide. To be licensed to practice as a physical therapist,
program graduates must also pass the National Physical Therapy
examination administered by the Federation of State Boards of
Physical Therapy.
Admissions
Entrance into the program is competitive. Students will be
selected based upon their application portfolio. Students who
are seeking an entry-level degree in physical therapy will enter
the program using the Entry-level Track.
Entry-level Track
Students seeking admission to the entry-level track DPT
program must have:
·
Completed all prerequisite coursework at
time of entry into the program.
·
Submitted scores on the general
test portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); test
taken within the last five
years.
·
Achieved an undergraduate
cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0.
·
Completed undergraduate degree by the
time of entry into the program.*
·
Completed at least two 20-hour
clinical experiences under the supervision of a licensed PT with
clinical letters of
recommendation.
·
Prior
acceptance into the
*Select students may be able to enter the
program prior to receiving their undergraduate degree under
dual-degree agreements. At UW-L such agreements exist with the
departments of Physics and Biology.
Degree Completion Requirements
All applicants must successfully complete the following
prerequisite courses:
|
*ESS 205 and 206 anatomy and physiology
courses from UW-L will satisfy this requirement.
The program has a rolling admissions policy
and students are accepted until the class is filled. Students
are accepted during the months of November and January
therefore, it is to your advantage to apply early.
Admission to the Physical Therapy program at
the
| Professional Curriculum Summer I (10 weeks) |
Credits |
|
| PTS 511 | Human Anatomy | 6 |
| PTS 512 | Medical Physiology | 4 |
| PTS 520 | Introduction to Physical Therapy Practice and Evaluation Techniques | 3 |
| Total Credits | 13 | |
| Fall I | Credits | |
| PTS 513 | Biomechanics and Kinesiology of Movement | 3 |
| PTS 514 | Motor Control, Motor Learning, and Motor Development | 2 |
| PTS 515 | Functional Neuroanatomy | 3 |
| PTS 516 | Physiological Regulation of Exertion and Disease | 2 |
| PTS 522 | Examination course | 5 |
| PTS 523 | Physical Agents | 3 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| J-Term | Credits | |
| PTS 651 | Fieldwork: Introduction to Clinical Learning | 1 |
| Total Credits | 1 | |
| Spring I | Credits | |
| PTS 611 | Applied Pathological Physiology | 2 |
| PTS 621 | Scientific Principles of Intervention | 5 |
| PTS 622 | Physical Therapy Management of the Cardiovascular/Pulmonary System | 3 |
| PTS 631 | Professionalism and the Ethos of Care | 3 |
| PTS 541 | Foundations of Clinical Research | 2 |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
| Summer II | ||
| (8 weeks instruction and 4 weeks fieldwork) | Credits | |
| PTS 623 | Integument System | 2 |
| PTS 721 | Musculoskeletal Evaluation and Treatment: Spine | 3 |
| PTS 542 | Research and Applied Statistics | 3 |
| PTS 543 | Instrumentation | 2 |
| PTS 641 | Evidence-based Practice: Levels of Evidence | 1 |
| PTS 751 | Fieldwork: General Practice | 2 |
| Total Credits | 13 |
|
| Fall II | Credits | |
| PTS 711 | Pharmacology | 2 |
| PTS 712 | Clinical Radiology | 1 |
| PTS 722 | Musculoskeletal Evaluation and Treatment: Lower Extremity | 3 |
| PTS 723 | Adult Neurorehabilitative Physical Therapy | 4 |
| PTS 732 | Clinical Teaching and Patient Education | 2 |
| PTS 741 | Evidence-based Practice: Interventions | 1 |
| PTS 742 | Research Practicum | 1 |
| Total Credits | 14 | |
| Spring II | Credits | |
| PTS 724 | Survey of Health and Wellness in Physical Therapy Practice | 2 |
| PTS 725 | Musculoskeletal Evaluation and Treatment: Upper Extremity | 3 |
| PTS 726 | Pediatric Neurorehabilitative Physical Therapy | 4 |
| PTS 727 | Case-based Clinical Decision Making – Interventions | 2 |
| PTS 733 | Health Care Systems and Administration | 3 |
| PTS 742 | Research Practicum | 1 |
| PTS 743 | Evidence-based Practice: Tests and Measures | 1 |
| Total Credits | 16 | |
| Summer III | Credits | |
| PTS 851 | Internship: Inpatient-acute/rehab | 6 |
| PTS 831 | Clinical Decision Making in an Inpatient Acute Care/Rehab Setting | 1 |
| Total Credits | 7 | |
| Fall III | Credits | |
| PTS 852 | Internship: Outpatient Orthopedic | 6 |
| PTS 832 | Clinical Decision Making in an Outpatient Acute Care/Rehab Setting | 1 |
| Total Credits | 7 | |
| Spring III | Credits | |
| PTS 853 | Internship: Autonomous Practice | 6 |
| PTS 833 | Clinical Decision Making in Autonomous Practice | 1 |
| PTS 854 | Internship Debriefing | 1 |
| Total Credits | 8 | |
| Total required credits for program | 112 | |