Overview
The three-year Doctor of Physical Therapy program is designed as an entry-level program for students holding a bachelor's degree. Students learn and gain clinical experience in brand new, state of the art facilities located on the Worcester campus.
Program Highlights
- Year-round, 32-month program
- Designed for individuals already holding a bachelor's degree or undergraduates entering via an articulation agreement with a partner school
- Fall semester start
- Offered on the Worcester campus only
- Newly constructed, state-of -the-art laboratories and classrooms including a human anatomy laboratory
- Graduates eligible to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE)
Program Details
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) provides facilities that contribute to the overall learning experience, including state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.
- Human anatomy laboratory with computer stations and anatomical models
- Clinical laboratory dedicated to physical therapy
- Lite Gait partial weight bearing system
- Motion analysis
- Biodex Balance System
Laboratory classes are held in the Lincoln Square Academic and Student Center. Students use the clinical simulation laboratory on campus which features five complete medical surgical units, one pediatric unit and two critical care units.
Clinical Rotations
The DPT program will take full advantage of the rich clinical learning resources of the Worcester region in addition to offering placements at settings outside of the region. Integrated clinical education sites will be within a short distance to the campus while the full time clinical education experiences that are in the third year of the program will be away from the campus.
Benefits of Clinical Experience
The clinical education program gives the student an opportunity:
- To integrate acquired classroom knowledge with clinical practice
- To develop skills that can be acquired only in the clinical setting to implement effective communication and professional behaviors with patients and health care providers
- To be exposed to a variety of health care settings as well as the variety of diagnoses/conditions that physical therapists encounter
- To understand the scope of the physical therapist's roles and responsibilitiesto address the health care needs of a community
Clinical education experiences will be varied so that students are prepared as general entry-level practitioners. Students will have in-patient and out-patient experiences with patients who are of varying ages and who have a variety of musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular-pulmonary and integumentary conditions.
The Clinical Education Program at MCPHS
Beginning in the first semester, students will be involved with integrated clinical education experiences; and these will continue throughout the first two years of the program.
In order to gain further clinical experience, students will complete three 10-week full-time clinical education experiences in the final year of program.
Sites:
- Advanced Sports Therapy
- All Access Physical Therapy
- Bay State Physical Therapy
- Beaumont Rehabilitation Hospital
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Blackstone Valley Physical Therapy
- Brigham and Women's HospitalFairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital
- Fallon Clinic
- Genesis Rehabilitation Services
- Greendale Physical Therapy
- Hingham Physical Therapy
- Life Care Centers of America
- Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy
- Ramsey Rehabilitation
- Select Physical Therapy
- Shriner's Hospital for Children, Springfield
- South County Physical Therapy
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
- St. Joseph HospitalSt. Vincent Hospital
- Tewksbury Hospital
- UMASS Memorial Medical Center
- VNA Care Network and Hospice
- Whittier Rehabilitation
- Worcester Child Development Head Start
Notice on Clinical Rotations and Background Screenings
For some of MCPHS's programs placements in clinical rotations at health care providers are a required part of the MCPHS curriculum. Some of those health care providers require background screenings and a conviction for a criminal offense might present an issue. It is possible that certain types of criminal convictions, whether prior to being a student at MCPHS or while attending MCPHS, could preclude a student from being able to complete a required clinical rotation. If you have any questions, please contact the MCPHS Chief Compliance Officer.
Facilities
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) provides facilities that contribute to the overall learning experience, including state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.
- Human anatomy laboratory with computer stations and anatomical models
- Clinical laboratory dedicated to physical therapy
- Lite Gait partial weight bearing system
- Motion analysis
- Biodex Balance System
Laboratory classes are held in the Lincoln Square Academic and Student Center. Students use the clinical simulation laboratory on campus which features five complete medical surgical units, one pediatric unit and two critical care units.
Technical Standards
Intellectual – Communication Abilities
Intellectual skills include the abilities to recall and comprehend large amounts of didactic information and to apply this information to the examination, evaluation and management of routine and complex physical therapy problems. Effective communication skills enable the physical therapist to elicit appropriate information from patients and to effectively explain examination and treatment procedures. Some of the skills an individual must be able to demonstrate include but are not limited to the ability to:
- Communicate clearly and in a timely manner with patients, physicians, other health professionals, community or professional groups, and colleagues.
- Report clearly, legibly, and in a timely manner through progress notes in patient charts, reports to physicians, insurance forms, and order forms.
- Respond to such things as a patient calling from behind a curtain, warning calls from anyone, and machine alarms.
- Participate in group meetings to deliver and receive information and to respond to questions from a variety of sources.
Behavioral and Social Attributes
Students must demonstrate the ability to practice in a professional and ethical manner and possess the emotional stability to practice in a stressful work environment. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, cultural competence and motivation are all personal attributes associated with the practice of physical therapy.
Some of the skills an individual must be able to demonstrate include but are not limited to the ability to:
- Recognize and respond appropriately to individuals of all ages, genders, races, socio-economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds.
- Cope with the stress of heavy workloads, demanding patients, and life threatening clinical situations.
- Recognize and respond appropriately to potentially hazardous situations.
Observational Skills
Observation is one of the key tools that a physical therapist possesses. To gather data on patient/client condition and to appropriately manipulate machinery are critical to being an effective physical therapist. Some of the skills an individual must be able to demonstrate include but are not limited to the ability to:
- Observe and interpret patient movement, skin condition, safety hazards, and changes in appearance.
- Read and interpret equipment dials, assessment graphs, patient charts, professional literature, and notes from patients, physicians, and other health professionals.
Motor Skills
The practice of physical therapy requires that the practitioner possess the ability to perform basic evaluative and therapeutic procedures that require specific physical skills and stamina (e.g. palpation, transfers, gait training). A therapist must be able to use vision and somatic sensation in the evaluation and treatment of patients. Some of the skills an individual must be able to demonstrate include but are not limited to the ability to:
- Lift, carry, and push patients (150 lbs.) in bed or wheelchairs, heavy equipment, body parts, and patients transferring from bed to chair or mat or be able to instruct others in the activity including proper body mechanics.
- Walk and balance well enough to help patients walk and transfer with or without equipment, and prevent injury to patient and self.
- Palpate anatomical structures and handle injured body parts without causing injury to the subject.
- Exhibit sufficient manual dexterity to manipulate very small equipment, provide support and resistance as needed through complex exercise movements, perform CPR, manipulate dials, and treat acutely ill patients without disturbing sensitive monitoring instruments and lines.
- Provide for the patient’s safety and well being in all therapeutic or transporting activities.
Accreditation
Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone; 703-706-3245; e-mail: accreditation@apta.org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation.
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is authorized to grant undergraduate and graduate degrees in the health sciences and related fields.
MCPHS is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
Candidacy Statement
Effective August 2, 2011, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates that the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses and that the program is progressing toward accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.
Admission Requirements
Many of our programs have different admission requirements and deadlines. To see the specific admission requirements for this program, please click on the link below.
Admission Requirements for Physical Therapy (DPT) (Worcester)
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