Program profile

ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION

A. Vision Statement
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Physical Therapy Program will be a recognized leader in evidence-based, clinically integrated, physical therapy education through collaboration among uniquely specialized professionals and institutions, serving diverse student and community populations and the physical therapy profession.

B. Mission Statement
The mission of the DPT Program is to produce physical therapists who are autonomous practitioners and leaders in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of movement dysfunction, and who enhance the health and functional abilities of the Wisconsin public.

C. Philosophy
The faculty believes that the professional education of physical therapists is complex and multifaceted. It involves the student, the faculty, the academic institution and the professional community. The faculty further believes that the learning environment must be student-centered in order to maximize the learner performance. Faculty also recognizes students possess a wide array of desires, past experiences, and capability to learn. Therefore, the program promotes teaching styles that encourage students to be active learners and to take responsibility for their own learning.

Professionalism is central to the educational process and will be modeled for and developed in students as an integral part of their academic and clinical learning. Therefore, the program promotes inclusion of professional behaviors into the curriculum as a required component for many academic courses and all clinical courses.

Physical Therapists practicing in healthcare at this time must be able to provide direct-access to their clients and serve as expert practitioners throughout patient management. Therefore, the program uses a hybrid model whereby curricular content is centered on strong foundational sciences, and evidence-based clinical practices which promote the development of clinicians who are capable of managing patient/client care.

D. Program Goals
In order to execute the mission statement that is consistent with the faculty philosophy on physical therapy education, the following goals have been established:

DPT Education will allow:

1. Recruitment and matriculation of the most qualified and diverse students, challenging and supporting them to completion of the Program.
2. Development of generalist practitioners who are prepared to assume the roles of clinician, educator, administrator, and whose practice is shaped by research evidence.
3. Recruitment and retention of diverse faculty who exemplify excellence in teaching and who serve as professional role models.
4. Contribution to evidence-based practice through faculty and student scholarly activity.
5. Facilitation of life-long learning within the physical therapy community.
6. Development of physical therapists who display the core values of professionalism that include accountability, altruism, compassion/caring, excellence, integrity, and professional and social responsibility.

E. Expected DPT Student Outcomes (Student Learning Outcomes)

DPT graduates will:
1. practice professionalism as observed through their ethical, moral and legal actions.
2. displays cultural competence through words and actions (as defined by the CPI).
3. examine patients of all ages by obtaining a history, performing a systems review, and administering selected tests and measures.
4. evaluate data from the examination in order to render evidence based clinical decisions and determine a diagnosis that guides patient/client management.
5. prepare a patient plan of care that is safe, effective, considers available resources, and client centered.
6. perform physical therapy interventions and monitor patient outcomes.
7. promote prevention, health and wellness at the individual, community, and societal level.
8. display ability to utilize information technology to access scientific literature to support clinical decisions.

All students complete five internships throughout the curriculum.  The first internship, held during the student's first J-Term, is a two week experience to practice basic skills such as patient interviewing, muscle testing, documentation, etc.   The second experience occurs at the end of the student's second summer semester and lasts four weeks.  Emphasis is placed on rural/ primary care hospitals, home health, SNF, subacute settings.  After completing two years of study in La Crosse the program concludes with three 12 week internships – inpatient rehab or acute care, outpatient general orthopedics and a niche setting of the student’s choice (rural medicine, pediatrics, sports, schools, research) which models the values characterized by autonomous practitioners.

Please be aware that a felony charge may affect your ability to obtain fieldwork placements and/or sit for the board examination.