Curriculum Design and Plan

The educational content of the DPT is conceptually organized around seven curricular components; Scientific Foundations, Clinical Sciences, Critical Exploration, Professional Development, Health Care Systems and Management, Electives and Clinical Experiences. These curricular components have been designed to progress from simple knowledge to complex integration and application, involving critical thinking and clinical decision-making. Course objectives illustrate a hierarchy of learning within each academic semester and throughout the curriculum. The methods of instruction include strategies and tactics from both reception learning (lectures) and discovery learning (problem-based learning methodology). The DPT curriculum acknowledges the academic abilities of students, as evidenced by the expected student outcomes, especially the demonstration of principles of adult learning, problem-solving, critical thinking, clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice.

All matriculated students enroll in the same courses through the spring semester of Year II. It is during this semester that students continue with the core curriculum and also begin the selection of their electives in clinical areas on interest. In the fall of Year III, students continue with required core courses and electives and also begin their advanced topic courses in a chosen clinical area of interest; orthopedics, adult neuro-rehabilitation, pediatrics or cardiopulmonary physical therapy.

Integration of the Foundational Sciences and Clinical Sciences

The courses in which the students are enrolled in fall and spring of Year I are a combination of Scientific Foundations and physical therapy Clinical Sciences. During the initial year of study (Fall I, Spring I, Summer I), the courses are designed to reinforce one another by coordinating and integrating content. The sequence of Year I courses is further integrated in the first Clinical Case Management Seminar (Summer I) and the first 8-week full time clinical education experience which follows in the latter part of Fall II.

During the second year, students begin the Clinical Science courses in orthopedics, adult neuro-rehabilitation and pediatrics. Again, these courses are sequenced to integrate and advance previously learned material and to promote synthesis and clinical application. The clinical courses are coordinated across content areas to facilitate clinical application in more complex patient/client situations. Likewise, the case studies designed for Clinical Case Management Seminar II address patients/clients with multi-system involvement.

Upon completion of Year II courses, students enter into their second full-time clinical experience (10 weeks in Summer II). As students’ progress through this assignment, they are held increasingly responsible for retaining prerequisite knowledge and skill. This is part of the students’ professional growth process as they continue to acquire competency and familiarity with their new professional role as preparation for entry into practice as safe and effective clinicians.

The entire academic and clinical sequence of Year II prepares students for both advanced core courses, specialty topic courses and additional electives, which occur during the fall of Year III. The advanced topic courses and electives continue students’ enhancement of knowledge and skill in clinical areas of interest. During this semester, courses emphasize critical analysis of current literature and synthesis of previous and concurrent course work into the development of a working model for evidence-based practice. As one of two final integrative courses, the Clinical Internship (Spring III, 18 weeks full-time) assists the students in internalizing those behaviors consistent with the expectations of professional practice.

Integration of Critical Exploration

During the first year of the curriculum, Theory and Application of Physical Therapy Research introduces the students to stages of the research process as well as the aspects of research design, methodology and evaluation. This course prepares students to analyze current literature in terms of its applicability to evidence-based practice and provide the foundation for the Clinical Case Management Seminars and completion of the Capstone Project.

The series of Clinical Case Management Seminars begins in the first year of the curriculum and continues through Year III. The unifying principle of these three seminar courses is problem-based methodology. The series introduces students to the clinical decision-making process and advances them through examples of patient/client management. Using the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice as the paradigmatic focus, this seminar series exposes students to decision-making strategies for the clinical environment using models, algorithms and clinical pathways. Students are exposed to case studies, the team approach to patient/client management and critical thinking activities. The case studies reflect various diagnoses, age and gender issues and multiple care settings. These courses have been positioned to precede the clinical education experiences thus helping in the transition from student to entry-level practitioner.

The completion of the Capstone Project in the fall of Year III serves as the second of two final integrative experiences for the DPT curriculum. Working under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students have the option of developing a critically appraised topic, a hooked on evidence paper or a literature review, which meets peer-review standards for publication or presentation. Completed projects will be presented as posters or platform presentations to the medical center community and first and second year students prior to graduation from the DPT program.

Students interested in a more intense research experience have an honors research option in addition to the capstone. Under this option, students will work with a faculty member on one of their research projects and assist in the collection, analysis of data and presentation of results at a national meeting.

Integration of Professional Development

During the first year of study, students are introduced to the physical therapy profession and the professional roles and responsibilities of physical therapists in today’s health care system. Additionally, the patient/practitioner relationship is examined with a focus on the awareness of individual and cultural differences. The emphasis on patient adaptation to illness and disability sensitizes the students to the myriad of issues that often impinge on practice expectations. This emphasis on professional judgment helps students prepare for the mentorship and first clinical education experience that occur during the fall semester of Year II.

During the second year of study, students explore ethical issues in medicine and rehabilitation to better understand the APTA’s Code of Ethics and Guide to Professional Conduct as well as gain skills in narrative medicine writing. Through the use of journal entries, students relate their perceptions of the ethical dilemmas and decisions encountered during their first clinical education experience.

In the fall of Year III, prior to the start of the Clinical Internship, in a workshop format, students discuss and write individualized goals and objectives that will become part of their portfolio assessment to record their learning experiences and professional development during the internship. During this portion of the curriculum, an overview of the physical therapy licensing examination is presented. Resume writing and job interviewing skills are emphasized and issues related to the first post-graduate position are discussed.


Integration of Health Care Systems and Management

During the fall semester of Year III courses have been developed to provide the foundation for the promotion of health education and wellness, address organizational and financial aspects of health care delivery, principles of access, examination of government and regulatory systems, the economic and political forces that impact on contemporary practice and the role of the physical therapist as an educator and consultant.

Integration of the Clinical Experiences

In the fall semester of Year II, as part of the didactic course work, students are paired with physical therapists from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and other affiliation sites in New York City. The therapists serve as the students’ clinical mentors and act as professional role models. The students meet with their mentors one-day-a week and during this structured time, students practice skills and procedures presented in concurrent lecture and laboratory courses as well as observe more advanced clinical practice techniques. Additionally, students begin to model professional behaviors through observation of patient/client/practitioner and multidisciplinary health care team interactions. This mentoring experience precedes the students’ first full-time clinical education experience and serves as the initial stage of transition from student to clinician.

The full-time clinical education experiences, Clinical Education I and II occurring during the fall and summer of Year II respectively, have been designed to enable students to apply didactic knowledge in clinical practice settings under the guidance of assigned clinical instructors who serve as teachers. These experiences are designed to progress the students from simple to complex applications of knowledge and skill and to enhance clinical decision-making and professional judgment as the students interact with patients, clients and health care providers across the continuum of care. Clinical Education I and II are 8 and 10 weeks respectively in length.

The Clinical Internship, an 18-week full-time experience, occurring during the spring semester of Year III, is based on an adult education model. Under the guidance of a clinical instructor, now serving in the role of a mentor, students assume responsibility for negotiating learning objectives and designing their learning experiences. Students continue to develop their clinical-decision making abilities and apply principles of evidence-based practice to clinical judgment. However, at this level, students are expected to move beyond the management of patients/clients and create opportunities to participate in program and policy development, administrative plans, educational projects, clinical teaching and research activities.