Physical Therapy

Clinical Health Studies (B.S.), Physical Therapy (D.P.T.)

Michael A. Pagliarulo, Professor and Chair

Beginning in the fall of 2006 the Department of Physical Therapy will initiate the College's first clinical doctoral program. The following primarily describes the undergraduate degree program.

The mission of the undergraduate physical therapy program at Ithaca College is to prepare skilled practitioners who render independent decisions and implement evidence-based, comprehensive care to maximize the function, health, and wellness of their patients/clients. With an emphasis on professional behavior and lifelong learning skills, our graduates are competent to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing health care environment and are prepared for the roles of practitioner, manager, consultant, clinical educator, and scholar in a variety of settings.

The Department of Physical Therapy offers a six-year, dual-degree program in clinical health studies/physical therapy. Students receive a B.S. degree in clinical health studies after four years of study and a doctorate degree in physical therapy after completion of the graduate program. Students must complete the D.P.T. degree to be eligible for physical therapy licensure. The first five years of the program are spent on the Ithaca campus. The final year is conducted at the Rochester, New York, campus of Ithaca College, which is affiliated with the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Strong Memorial Hospital. Students spend the summer semester following the junior year on the Rochester campus in a 10-week concentrated study of human anatomy. Students gain practical experience through full-time clinical education courses, totaling 40 weeks, at sites throughout the United States. The program is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education and is approved by the New York State Education Department.

B.S. in Clinical Health Studies

Note: This degree does not provide eligibility for licensure to practice physical therapy. It is awarded after four years of study in the six-year combined B.S./D.P.T. program in clinical health studies/physical therapy.

Special Academic Status Policy for Clinical Health Studies Majors and Doctorate of Physical Therapy

Grade requirements

Undergraduate Students- Students in the clinical science major must receive at least a grade of C- in all required courses. Students who do not have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.80 at the completion of the spring semester of their sophomore year will be dismissed from the program.

To be eligible for admission to the doctorate in physical therapy program (graduate years), applicants must have completed the B.S. program in clinical health studies and have achieved at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA.

Graduate Students- Students are expected to enter the D.P.T. program the fall semester immediately following the awarding of the B.S. degree in clinical health studies. Graduate students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 through each academic block/semester to avoid academic warning and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 to graduate.

During the graduate years of the program, any student receiving more than 6 credits of C (C+, C, or C-) or an F in a required course will be subject to dismissal from the physical therapy program and may not reenter the program. At the graduate level, no grades of D are awarded; the lowest passing grade is C-. Students must earn a satisfactory rating in all courses, including all required clinical education courses, before the degree will be awarded and certification granted for licensing.

Curricular requirements

Courses and credits must be satisfactorily completed in the allotted time and in the sequence shown in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs unless permission to deviate from the sequence or time frame has been approved by the department faculty. Candidates for a doctorate in physical therapy are required to meet all requirements for graduation within four years of their matriculation date into the graduate program.

Academic warning

Being placed on academic warning indicates that a student has a serious academic deficiency that, if not corrected, will result in suspension or dismissal from the clinical health studies/physical therapy program. Juniors, seniors, and graduate students on academic warning may not be allowed to progress to clinical education courses. Such students may be allowed to progress in the curriculum only under conditions specified and approved by the department. Remediation for removal of academic warning status will be determined by the department faculty.

Undergraduate Students- An undergraduate clinical health studies major will be placed on academic warning within the Department of Physical Therapy for the following semester if he or she

1. receives less than a C- grade in, drops, or withdraws from any required course, or

2. does not complete the required courses in the allotted time, or

3. fails to remove an incomplete grade in the allotted time, or

4. fails, drops, or withdraws from a clinical education course, or

5. receives less than a 3.00 GPA during a semester taking required graduate (level 5 or higher) courses, or

6. fails to complete the requirements for general education and a minor prior to beginning the clinical health studies/physical therapy curriculum courses that are at the graduate level (level 5 or higher). For students entering the program as freshmen, the general education and minor requirements must be met by the end of the junior year.

Graduate Students- A graduate student in the physical therapy major will be placed on academic warning if he or she

1. receives less than a 3.00 GPA in an academic block/semester, or

2. withdraws from a required course, or

3. fails to remove an incomplete grade in the allotted time, or

4. fails, drops, withdraws, or receives a U in a clinical education course.

Warning will be removed when both of the following criteria are met:

1. The student's GPA for the following semester or academic block/semester is 3.00 or greater.

2. The student's graduate cumulative GPA is 3.00 or greater.

Clinical Education- If the student receives a grade of F or U in a clinical education course, he or she will be placed on academic warning. The student must remediate this grade in one or more of the following ways as decided by the faculty:

1. Complete an equivalent clinical education course and receive a grade of pass or S,

2. Perform remedial work under the supervision of one or more faculty members, or

3. Satisfactorily complete an independent clinical study.

Suspension from the undergraduate program

A student who is subject to dismissal from the program may, under extenuating circumstances, be granted a suspension from the program. Alternatively, if the student is subject to warning, but not dismissal, and the academic deficiency is more severe than normal in warning situations, the student may be suspended from the program. A student on program suspension may not enroll in courses offered within the major. Such a student may apply for a leave of absence from Ithaca College in accordance with College policy. To be eligible for readmission, the student will have to fulfill certain conditions prescribed by the Department of Physical Therapy at the time of suspension.

Dismissal from the program

Undergraduate Students- An undergraduate student is subject to dismissal from the clinical health studies/physical therapy major if he or she

1. receives less than a C- in two or more required courses in the same semester, or

2. is a freshman or sophomore on academic warning who fails to successfully complete (with grades of C- or better) at least 12 credit hours in a semester, or a junior or senior who has not successfully completed the minimum number of credit hours to progress to the next semester, or

3. has less than a 2.80 cumulative GPA at the end of the sophomore year, or

4. is a freshman or sophomore on academic warning for the preceding semester, or a junior or senior who has been on academic warning for any semester, and receives less than a C- (or fails to remove an incomplete grade in the specified period of time) in any required course, or

5. is a senior who receives less than a C- (or fails to remove an incomplete grade in the specified time) in any required course or clinical education prerequisite, or

6. fails, drops, withdraws, or receives a U in any two required courses, including clinical education courses, or

7. withdraws from a required course while on academic warning.

In an exceptional case, a student may be readmitted upon the satisfactory completion of conditions determined by the department faculty.

Graduate Students - A graduate student in the Department of Physical Therapy is subject to dismissal from the program if he or she

1. receives more than 6 credits of C (C-, C, C+) during the graduate years, or

2. receives a grade of F for any course in the graduate years (excluding clinical education courses), or

3. remains on academic warning for any two consecutive semesters or academic blocks, or

4. fails, drops, withdraws, or receives a U from any two clinical education courses (graduate or undergraduate), or

5. fails to successfully complete departmental remediation as prescribed by the faculty within the allotted time.

A student dismissed from the program is not eligible to remain in the Department of Physical Therapy but may be eligible to pursue other Ithaca College programs.

If academic performance deficiencies include failure to meet minimum standards of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance or the Division of Graduate Studies, suspension or dismissal from Ithaca College may result.

A more complete description of special academic policies and procedures is available in the physical therapy department office.

Requirements for the Major in Clinical Health Studies - B.S.

Major department requirements

PTBS-31300	Clinical Physiology	3
PTBS-51002	Human Anatomy	6
PTBS-51103	Pathology for Physical Therapists	3
PTBS-52001	Fundamentals of Patient/Client Care	2
PTBS 52102	Musculoskeletal Examination and Evaluation	3
PTBS-52203	Soft Tissue Palpation and Examination	2
PTBS-52304	Peripheral Joint Mobilization	1.5
PTBS-52405	Therapeutic Exercise	3
PTBS-53101	Electrotherapeutic Modalities and Physical Agents	4
PTBS-53702	Applied Biomechanics	3
PTBS-54001	Profession of Physical Therapy	0.5
PTBS-54102	Preclinical Conference I	0
PTBS-54203	Professional Development I	1
PTBS-55501	Teaching and Learning in the Clinical Setting	1
PTBS-55602	Introduction to Health Care Systems	1
PTBS-56701	Research I: Scientific Inquiry	3
	Total, department requirements	37

Required courses outside major department - in the School of Humanities and Sciences

BIOL-11900-12000	Fundamentals of Biology	8
BIOL-20600	Primary Human Anatomy	3
CHEM-11100-11300	Fundamentals of Chemistry with Lab	4
CHEM-11200-11400	Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry with Lab	4
PHYS-10100-10200	Introduction to Physics I and II	8
	Total, required courses outside major department	27

Electives outside major department

General education requirements (see School of Humanities and Sciences)

	Writing effectiveness	0-3
	Self and society	12
	2b Mathematics and formal reasoning	3
	3a Language	6
	3b Visual and performing arts	6
	Total electives outside major department	27-30

These general education requirements must be completed by the end of the junior year. A maximum of 6 advanced placement credits may be applied toward appropriate courses to meet the general education requirement. Students must either achieve a score on the math placement exam placing them in group 1, 2, or 3, or if placed in group 4, earn a grade of C- or better in MATH-10000 or MATH-18000. Students must include in their coursework at least 6 credits with a global designation and 6 credits with a historical designation. These credits may be fulfilled in part by courses taken to fulfill general education requirements or as unrestricted (free) electives. Students may obtain sample course sequences for meeting these requirements from the department office. The following departmental courses may be taken as free electives.

PTBS-20200	Rehabilitation for Older Adults	1
PTBS-39900-39999	Selected Topics in Physical Therapy	1-3
PTBS-47000	Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment of the Lumbar Spine	2
PTBS-49900-49999	Independent Study	1-3

Minors

Students are required to complete a minor. Students are encouraged to declare a minor early, as careful scheduling may be necessary to complete some minors. The minor can be in any department at Ithaca College. Generally, minors require 18-21 credits. Please review this catalog for a listing of available minors.

	Total minor credits	18-21
	Free electives	5-11
	Total, B.S. in clinical health studies	120

Housing and Transportation Arrangements for Clinical Education

During each full-time clinical education, students are responsible for making housing arrangements and arrangements for transportation to and from the clinical facilities. Information on securing housing during education placements is available from the department offices on the respective campuses. For more information on student expenses for the graduate years:
Expenses

Doctorate in Physical Therapy

For students who begin their program under the 2006-7 undergraduate catalog, the major department requirements for the doctorate in physical therapy are listed below. Note that the final year of the program takes place on the Rochester, New York, campus.

Graduation Requirements

To be considered for the doctorate in physical therapy, all students must complete the B.S. degree program in clinical health studies at Ithaca College and the required courses listed below.

Major department requirements

PDPT-51004	Pharmacology	2
PDPT-52506	Spine Examination and Rehabilitation	3
PDPT-54300	Preclinical Conference II	0
PDPT-54400	Professional Development II	0.5
PDPT-55700	Clinical Administration I	3
PDPT-55800	Clinical Administration II	1
PDPT-55900	Psychosocial Aspects of Patient Care	2
PDPT-56800	Research II: Evidence-Based Practice in Physical Therapy	2
PDPT-57000	Clinical Neuroanatomy	3
PDPT-57100	Clinical Neurophysiology	3
PDPT-57200	Normal Motor Development	3
PDPT-57300	Fundamentals of the Neurologic Examination	3
PDPT-59000	Clinical Education I	4
PDPT-59102	Clinical Education II	4
PDPT-62607	Clinical Orthopedics	2
PDPT-63800	Pathokinesiology	3
PDPT-63900	Orthotics/Prosthetics	2
PDPT-64500	Pre-Clinical Conference III	0
PDPT-64600	Professional Development III	1
PDPT-64700	Professional Development IV	0.5
PDPT-66900	Research III: Research Seminar	3
PDPT-67400	Neurological Rehabilitation I	3
PDPT-67500	Neurological Rehabilitation II	3
PDPT-67600	Pediatric Rehabilitation	3
PDPT-68000	Differential Diagnosis	1
PDPT-68100	Cardiac Testing and Management	2
PDPT-68200	Clinical Medicine/Surgery	3
PDPT-68300	Pulmonary Testing and Management	2
PDPT-68400	Case Study Seminar	2
PDPT-68500	Wellness and Prevention	1
PDPT-69200	Clinical Education III	4
PDPT-69300	Clinical Education IV (4) and
PDPT-69400	Clinical Education V (4) or
PDPT-69500	Clinical Education VI (8)	8
	Total, doctorate in physical therapy	77

Clinical Education

The Department of Physical Therapy has established contracts with over 800 clinical education sites. It continues to explore new clinical sites to assure that students are offered the best clinical education. A current listing of sites is available in the Office of Experiential Learning. The directors of clinical education determine the sites to be used and the placement of the students for each of their clinical affiliations. Assignments to clinical affiliations are based on several factors, such as program requirements for a variety of experiences, faculty advisement, student performance, and student preference.