Physical Therapy

DOCTOR of PHYSICAL THERAPY (DPT) PROGRAM

What is the DPT?

Physical therapists provide diagnoses, interventions, and consultations for individuals with movement dysfunctions resulting from injury, disease, inherited disorders, or the natural aging process.  The evidence based interventions prescribed by a physical therapist have a strong foundation in the basic and behavioral sciences with a focus of assisting a patient or client in achieving their preventive or rehabilitative goals.  Members of the profession are presented with many exciting challengers across a vast array of employment opportunities that provide a lifetime of satisfaction resulting from helping individuals function more effectively.

Physical therapists provide professional services in a variety of clinical and community examination settings including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, pediatric and geriatric treatment centers, extended care facilities, sports physical therapy centers, home health care, exercise centers, community agencies, schools, and out-patient practices. Physical therapist also have numerous employment opportunities in administrative and management positions in all of the above noted clinical settings and as teachers and researchers.

What are some of the features of the DPT program at Temple University?

The DPT program at Temple University is offered from a Health Sciences Center located in a large urban campus located in one of the preeminent metropolitan areas of the United States.  The DPT curriculum consists of a total of 130 credits commences during the Summer II session in early July and ends approximately 34 months later in early May.  Students can expect to encounter a majority of the coursework during the fall and spring semesters with summers often devoted to to full-time clinical internships.  A total of seven breaks in excess of 10 days are built into the curriculum, with five of the seven breaks exceeding 3 consecutive weeks.  Additional breaks from the classroom and clinical internships include week-long spring breaks and various holidays.

Students enrolled in the program can expect to complete a total of 40 weeks of full-time clinical internships (above the national average for DPT program) and also select from an array of topics during their final year in the program that will provide them initial exposure to clinical skills that go beyond those expected of entry-level practitioners. 

Finally, students entering Temple University as freshmen also have the opportunity to pursue an accelerated 3+3 pre-baccalaureate admissions articulation that combines the undergraduate degree with the DPT degree in a six year time-window versus the typical 7 year window and thereby reduce undergraduate tuition totals by one year.  Details for these articulations can be found at the following link (3+3 Accelerated Pre-baccalaureate Articulations).

What are some of additional features of Temple University and the city of Philadelphia?

Temple and the city of Philadelphia offer a wide-range of athletic, cultural, and recreational opportunities on a year-round basis.  While dormitories provide housing opportunities at the main campus, most students attending programs at the Health Sciences Center take advantage of community housing opportunities that exist throughout the metropolitan area.  Philadelphia and the southern corner of Pennsylvania (including southern New Jersey and northern Delaware) provides an excellent and affordable public transportation system. Temple graduates can expect to become part of a world-wide network that includes almost one-quarter of one million alumni from over 150 different countries.

What essential functions must an individual possess in order to become a successful Doctor of Physical Therapy?

Graduates Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy are expected to function as autonomous practitioners and provide a full range of physical therapy services.  Individuals who successfully complete the program are eligible to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) and upon passing the exam, enter into the profession of physical therapy.  As a result, all students admitted to the program must be able to demonstrate the following essential functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

Professionalism

Students must demonstrate the ability to act professionally in any environment, including stressful situations or when faced with impending deadlines.  Acting professionally includes, but is not limited to, practicing safely, ethically and legally, demonstrating responsibility for lifelong professional growth and development, demonstrating respect for others, advocating for the health and health care needs of patients/clients, coping in difficult situations, demonstrating appropriate hygiene and appropriate affective interpersonal behaviors.

Cognition

Students must demonstrate the cognitive abilities to exhibit an understanding of the academic knowledge base and preparation expected of a physical therapist, identify cause-and-effect relationships one may encounter in a clinical or classroom setting, develop and appropriately modify patient/client goals/plans, respond appropriately to emergency situations, apply universal precautions, and apply teaching and learning theories in health care.

 Judgment

Students must demonstrate sound judgment, based on an understanding of the rationale and justification for their choices, by listening and responding with appropriate verbal and nonverbal responses, in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings.

 Communication

Students must demonstrate clear, effective and efficient ability to understand and use the written and oral English language, as well as to listen, and respond, appropriately to verbal and nonverbal forms of communication.

 Mobility

Students must demonstrate the physical ability to efficiently and safely move between and within clinical environments and maneuver under various conditions of environmental constraint.

 Sensorimotor

Students must demonstrate adequate sensorimotor skills to provide safe and effective physical therapy examinations (e.g., palpation, auscultation, etc.), physical therapy interventions (e.g., range of motion activities, patient/client guarding, assisting with ambulation, transfers, etc.) and emergency treatment to patients (e.g., monitor alarms, monitor vital signs, perform CPR, etc.) efficiently and reliably.

Anyone requiring accommodations must contact Disability Resources and Services at: (215) 204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex (Main Campus).