PHT 1801L - Physical Therapy Clinical Practice I

Health Science Department

Credit(s): 4
Contact Hours: 220
Effective Term Summer 2025 (650)

Requisites

Prerequisite PHT 2252 with a minimum grade of C and
Prerequisite PHT 2252L with a minimum grade of C and
Prerequisite PSY 1012 with a minimum grade of C and
Prerequisite Any General Education Humanities course with a minimum grade of C

Course Description

This course allows the student to correlate didactic course work with basic patient care skills in the clinical setting utilizing information learned in the first year of the physical therapist assistant program. Each student is assigned to a clinical agency and performs specific physical therapy modalities and procedures on a variety of patients under the close supervision of a physical therapist. (Note: This course requires 40 clinical hours per week for 5.5 weeks.)

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will, at the advanced intermediate level, engage in appropriate ethical practice in all situations.
    1. Perform duties in a manner consistent with the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) Guide for Conduct of the Physical Therapist Assistant and Standards of Ethical Conduct to meet the expectations of patients, members of the physical therapy profession, and other providers as necessary.
    2. Implement in response to an ethical situation, a plan of action that demonstrates sounds moral reasoning congruent with core professional ethics and values.
    3. Report to appropriate authorities suspected cases of abuse of vulnerable populations.
    4. Report to appropriate authorities suspected cases of fraud and abuse related to the utilization of and payment for physical therapy and other health care services.
  2. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, engage in appropriate legal practice in all situations.
    1. Adhere to legal practice standards, including all federal, state, and institutional regulations related to patient/client care and fiscal management.
  3. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, execute duties and activities that exemplify accountability and sound judgment.
    1. Report any changes in the patient's/client's status or progress to the supervising physical therapist.
    2. Perform duties in a manner consistent with APTA's Values Based Behaviors for the Physical Therapist Assistant.
    3. Demonstrate compliance with completion of the required number of clinical hours.
  4. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, exhibit inclusive behaviors and cultural competence when interacting with others.
    1. Demonstrate respect for the differences of others.
    2. Apply knowledge, theory, and judgment from the patient's/client's perspective, based on the plan of care established by the physical therapist.
  5. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, demonstrate effective communication skills with others.
    1. Distinguish between effective and ineffective verbal and non-verbal communication with all stakeholders, including patients/clients, family members, caregivers, practitioners, interprofessional team members, consumers, payers, policymakers, faculty, and classmates.
    2. Educate others using teaching methods that are commensurate with the needs of the patient, caregiver or healthcare personnel.
    3. Participate in the provision of patient-centered interprofessional collaborative care.
  6. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, participate in activities that promote professional growth and development as a clinician.
    1. Describe the medical and physical therapy care management and the role of various health care providers caring for a patient with a given disease/disorder.
      1. Identify and integrate appropriate evidence-based resources to support clinical decision-making for progression of the patient within the plan of care established by the physical therapist.
    2. Perform a self-critique by identifying strengths and areas needing improvement.
      1. Discuss personal challenges working with various patient populations.
      2. Summarize the types of patients the student feels most comfortable treating.
      3. Discuss techniques of patient-student-therapist interactions encountered in the clinical setting.
      4. Describe personal career development and lifelong learning opportunities based on strengths and opportunities for improvement.
  7. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, demonstrate appropriate clinical reasoning skills.
    1. Interview patients/clients, caregivers, and family to obtain current information related to prior and current level of function and general health status, such as, but not limited to, fatigue, fever, malaise, and unexplained weight change.
    2. Communicate an understanding of the plan of care developed by the physical therapist to achieve short- and long-term goals and intended outcomes.
    3. Review health records, such as lab values, diagnostic tests, specialty reports, narratives, consults, and physical therapy documentation prior to carrying out the PT plan of care.
    4. Safely monitor and adjust interventions in the plan of care in response to patient/client status and clinical indications.
    5. Determine when an intervention should not be performed due to clinical indications or when the direction to perform the intervention is beyond that which is appropriate for the physical therapist assistant.
    6. Accurately measure standard vital signs.
    7. Assess a patient’s mental functions.
    8. Fit and adjust patient devices and equipment to ensure patient safety.
    9. Perform gait, locomotion, and balance training safely.
    10. Perform safe functional training in self-care and in domestic, education, work, community, social, and civic life.
    11. Respond appropriately to emergencies.
    12. Contribute to patient and healthcare provider safety.
  8. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, demonstrate competence in implementing selected components of interventions identified in the plan of care established by the physical therapist. Interventions include:
    1. Therapeutic exercise.
    2. Muscle performance, such as measuring muscle strength by manual muscle testing; observing the presence or absence of muscle mass; recognizing normal and abnormal muscle length and changes in muscle tone.
    3. Posture, including determining normal and abnormal alignment of the trunk and extremities at rest and during activities.
    4. Range of motion, including measuring functional range of motion and measuring range of motion using an appropriate measurement device.
    5. Manual therapy techniques, including passive range of motion and therapeutic massage.
    6. Biophysical agents, including biofeedback, electrotherapeutic agents, compression therapies, cryotherapy, hydrotherapy, superficial and deep thermal agents, traction and light therapies.
    7. Airway clearance techniques, including breathing exercises, coughing techniques and secretion mobilization.
    8. Application of devices and equipment, including assistive/adaptive devices and prosthetic and orthotic devices.
    9. Functional training in self-care and in domestic, education, work, community, social, and civic life.
    10. Motor function training for balance and gait.
    11. Patient/client education.
  9. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, demonstrate competence in performing components of data collection skills essential for carrying out the plan of care by administering appropriate tests and measures (before, during, and after interventions) for the following areas:
    1. Integumentary integrity, including detecting absent or altered sensation; normal and abnormal integumentary changes; activities, positioning, and postures that aggravate or relieve pain or altered sensations, or that can produce associated skin trauma; and recognize viable versus nonviable tissue.
    2. Joint integrity and mobility, including detecting normal and abnormal joint movement.
    3. Anthropometric characteristics, including measurements of height, weight, length and girth.
    4. Neuromotor development, including detecting gross motor milestones, fine motor milestones, and righting and equilibrium reactions.
    5. Gait, including determining the safety, status, and progression of a patient while engaged in gait activities.
    6. Locomotion, including determining the safety, status, and progression of a patient while engaged in locomotion activities (wheelchair mobility and management).
    7. Balance, including determining the safety, status, and progression of a patient while engaged in balance activities.
  10. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, produce appropriate and accurate documentation that describes the data collection and interventions provided to the patient/client. Appropriate documentation includes:
    1. Accurate, concise, timely and legible written description(s) of patient care activities.
    2. The use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe a patient's/client's impairments, activity and participation limitations.
    3. The use of appropriate medical terminology/abbreviations and proper spelling that support the delivery of physical therapy services.
    4. Adherence to the guidelines and specific documentation formats required by state practice acts, the practice setting, other regulatory agencies, and third-party payers in a SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) format.
  11. The student will, at the advanced beginner level, effectively participate in resource management.
    1. Appropriately contribute to the discontinuation of care.
    2. Perform accurate and timely billing.
    3. Describe aspects of organizational planning and operation of the physical therapy service.
    4. Engage in quality assurance and improvement activities.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will demonstrate competency by achieving a "Pass" or "P" for the overall course. This is a Pass or Fail course. The "Pass" or "Fail" score is determined by the following criteria that are listed in detail on the Clinical Education Grading Rubric. The student must receive a "Pass" on each of the requirements below in order to pass the course. 1. Discussion Posts (Pass or Fail) 2. Attendance Form (Pass or Fail) 3. Clinical Notebook (Pass or Fail) 4. In-service or Case Study (Pass or Fail) 5. Clinical Performance Instrument Self-Evaluation (Pass or Fail) 6. Evaluation of the Clinical Experience and Clinical Instructor (Pass or Fail) 7. Clinical Performance Instrument (Pass or Fail) - Must achieve Web CPI 3.0 Performance Criteria # 2-11 at the Advanced Beginner Level and CPI 3.0 Performance Criterion #1 (Ethical Practice) at the Advanced Intermediate Level in order to pass this requirement.

History of Changes

C&I 4/23/02, BOT 5/14/02, Effective 20021. 3 Year Review 2005. C&I 11/28/06, BOT 1/22/07, Effective 20071(0385). “C” grades added, effective 20081(0400). C&I 11/10/08, BOT 12/16/08, Effective 20091(0415). C&I 6/23/09, BOT 7/21/09, Effective 20091(0415). C&I Approval: 09/16/2011, BOT Approval: 10/20/2011, Effective Term: Spring 2016 (510). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Summer 2016 (515). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Summer 2017 (530). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Spring 2018 (540). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Spring 2019 (555).
C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Summer 2025 (650)

Related Programs

  1. Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA-AS) (640) (Active)