University of Saint Mary

Department Contact

Christi Sumpter
Email: dpt@stmary.edu
Ph: 913-758-4398

DPT Curriculum

The University of Saint Mary believes in the dignity of each person's capacity to learn, and to relate to and better our diverse world.

USM and the university's DPT program are heavily value-driven. As such, the university's and the DPT's core values have a significant role in the development of our curriculum.

Faculty members use the core values during class as guideposts to the best delivery of the material. Faculty and student behaviors that are exhibited in each course must be in accordance with our core values.

The DPT mission is consistent with the Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education and the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice in the following ways:

The Guide immerses the disablement model within a physical and cultural environment, and work therefore in this realm must be culturally sensitive in order to be effective.
By developing our students' God-given potentials we are teaching them and they are learning proper patient-client management, using the preferred physical therapist practice patterns, and employing specific tests used in physical therapist practice.

Building upon the underdeveloped knowledge and skills of our students when they first arrive, the curriculum facilitates and inculcates advanced knowledge and skills, analytical and critical thinking, and lifelong thirst for continued development, which includes a desire to acquire new knowledge about physical therapy.

The areas in which these elements are advanced by the curriculum are congruent with those categories used in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice.

A significant part of the curriculum covers the interventions that physical therapists provide. These are learned by our students in our courses and clinical experiences.

Cohort Group Progression Requirement

The USM DPT curriculum is designed sequentially so that all courses must be taken in the order and at the time scheduled for each admitted class (cohort group). Hence, we do not drop or add courses. Any exceptions to the cohort progression requirement must stem from unavoidable and extreme personal circumstances, and must be approved by the program director.

Overview of DPT Curriculum Sequentially by Semesters

Semester	Course Title	Credit Hours	Contact Hrs.	Duration
Summer 1, 2012	DPT 610 Concepts in Physical Therapy	2	72	8 Weeks
Summer 1, 2012	DPT 611 Research in Physical Therapy I	2	32	8 Weeks
Summer 1, 2012	DPT 612 Legal and Ethical Issues in Physical Therapy	2	32	8 Weeks
Summer 1, 2012	DPT 613 Human Development, and the Life Cycle	2	32	8 Weeks

Fall 1, 2012	DPT 620 Clinical Human Anatomy	4	112	16 Weeks
Fall 1, 2012	DPT 621 Surface Anatomy and Examination Techniques	2	64	16 Weeks
Fall 1, 2012	DPT 622 Human Imaging in PT Practice I	1	32	16 Weeks
Fall 1, 2012	DPT 623 Physical Agents and Mechanical Modalities	3	80	16 Weeks
Fall 1, 2012	DPT 624 Acute Care and Therapeutic Exercise	4	112	16 Weeks
Fall 1, 2012	DPT 625 Biomechanics and Kinesiology	2	64	16 Weeks

Spring 1, 2013	DPT 630 Medical Physiology	3	72	16 Weeks
Spring 1, 2013	DPT 631 Clinical Management of the Musculoskeletal System I	5	128	16 Weeks
Spring 1, 2013	DPT 632 Neuroanatomy-Neuroscience	3	96	16 Weeks
Spring 1, 2013	DPT 633 Human Imaging in PT Practice II	1	32	16 Weeks
Spring 1, 2013	DPT 634 Electrotherapeutic Modalities and Clinical Electrophysiology	2	80	16 Weeks
Spring 1, 2013	DPT 635 Clinical Human Anatomy Laboratory	2	64	16 Weeks

Summer 2, 2013	DPT 710 Motor Control and Motor Learning	2	32	8 Weeks
Summer 2, 2013	DPT 711 Clinical Management of the Adult Neurological System	4	72	8 Weeks
Summer 2, 2013	DPT 712 Research in Physical Therapy II	2	32	8 Weeks

Fall 2, 2013	DPT 720 Exercise Physiology and Nutrition	3	48	8 Weeks
Fall 2, 2013	DPT 721 Differential Diagnosis	2	32	8 Weeks
Fall 2, 2013	DPT 722 Clinical Management of the Musculoskeletal System II	3	88	8 Weeks
Fall 2, 2013	DPT 723 Histology, Pathology / Pathophysiology	3	48	8 Weeks
Fall 2, 2013	DPT 724 Medical Lectures	3	48	8 Weeks
Fall 2, 2013	DPT 725 Clinical Internship I {Clinical} (2 Weeks = 1 Credit Hour) (End of Semester)	4	320	8 Weeks

Spring 2, 2014	DPT 730 Clinical Internship II {Clinical} (2 Weeks = 1 Credit Hour) (First Part of Semester)	4	320	8 Weeks
Spring 2, 2014	DPT 731 Clinical Management of the Pediatric and Adolescent Neurological System	3	56	8 Weeks
Spring 2, 2014	DPT 732 Clinical Management of the Cardiopulmonary System	3	80	8 Weeks
Spring 2, 2014	DPT 733 Critical Integration and Analysis of Patient Care I	2	32	8 Weeks
Spring 2, 2014	DPT 734 Medical Pharmacology	3	48	8 Weeks
Spring 2, 2014	DPT 735 Research in Physical Therapy III	1	16	8 Weeks

Summer 3, 2014	DPT 810 Research in Physical Therapy IV	1	16	8 Weeks
Summer 3, 2014	DPT 811 Health Care Systems for the Physical Therapist	2	32	8 Weeks
Summer 3, 2014	DPT 812 Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Assistive Technologies	3	48	8 Weeks
Summer 3, 2014	DPT 813 Healthy Aging and Advanced Topics in Geriatrics	2	32	8 Weeks

Fall 3, 2014	DPT 820 Community Health and Wellness	2	24	8 Weeks
Fall 3, 2014	DPT 821 Critical Integration and Analysis of Patient Care II	2	32	8 Weeks
Fall 3, 2014	DPT 822 Clinical Management of the Integumentary System	2	32	8 Weeks
Fall 3, 2014	DPT 823 The Physical Therapist as Educator	1	16	8 Weeks
Fall 3, 2014	DPT 824 Physical Therapy Management and Administration	3	48	8 Weeks
Fall 3, 2014	DPT 825 Clinical Internship III {Clinical} (2 Weeks = 1 Credit Hour)(Last Part of Semester)	4	320	8 Weeks

Spring 3, 2015	DPT 830 Clinical Internship IV {Clinical} (2 Weeks = 1 Credit Hour) (First Part of Semester)	4	320	8 Weeks
Spring 3, 2015	DPT 831 Special Topics (Complimentary Therapies; Lymphedema Management; Vestibular Rehabilitation; Trigger Point Therapy and Myofascial Release; Aquatic Rehabilitation)	4	80	8 Weeks
Spring 3, 2015	DPT 832 Elective (1. Sports Medicine or 2. Spinal Mobilization, or 3. Women's Health)	2	32	8 Weeks
Spring 3, 2015	DPT 833 Oral Defense of Research and Presentations	2	80	8 Weeks
Spring 3, 2015	DPT 834 Comprehensive Examination	1	32	8 Weeks
Spring 3, 2015	Graduation Ceremonies		Total:	8 Weeks

Nine semesters, 120 weeks, 117 credits, 32 weeks of clinical internship.
Starts in June of first year (planned 2012); ends in May in third year (2015).
Competency exams after completing each year's work; comprehensive competency exam during last semester.

Oral presentation and defense of research projects occurs during the last semester

Effective May 2, 2012, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Saint Mary 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; email: 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.

USM DPT Program Student Outcomes
(As of May 2012)

1.      Graduation Rate: The program earned Candidacy in May of 2012. We will not be able to post a graduation rate until May of 2015, when we anticipate graduating our first class of students.

2.      Licensure Examination Pass Rate: The program earned Candidacy in May of 2012. We will not be able to post a licensure examination pass rate until 2015, when we anticipate receiving that information from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.

3.      Employment Rate: The program earned Candidacy in May of 2012. We will not be able to post an employment rate until late in 2015, approximately 6 months after graduation.