School of Physical Therapy

 What is Clinical Education? 

• Clinical Education is the application portion of the professional PT program. Your experiences at various clinical facilities will assist you in integrating the classroom material and applying that knowledge to various patient populations and settings.

• It is the philosophy of the School of Physical Therapy to insure that every graduate is well prepared to enter the profession as a generalist. Therefore, during clinical education, you will be expected to select a variety of practice settings for your clinical experiences.

• Each of the five clinical education courses is graded on a credit/no credit basis. Specific objectives and grading criteria are required and are distributed prior to each course. Credit is received when all the grading criteria have been completed. Seminars are associated with each clinical education course and attendance is part of the grading criteria.

• The Director of Clinical Education (DCE) is the faculty member responsible for coordinating the clinical education program.
  
  Both the Houston and the Dallas campuses adhere to the same schedule.

 Overview of Clinical Education:

Throughout the curriculum, in addition to course work and laboratory experiences, instructors schedule patient contact experiences. Patients may be brought into the classroom, or students may travel to local clinical facilities. These experiences give students the opportunity to work directly with clinical faculty and patients during each semester.

Clinical Education Experiences:

During the professional program, each student will be scheduled for 5 clinical education experiences of varying lengths.

       Semester 2               (PT 5931; Preliminary Clinical Experience) 1/2 day per week in several different local inpatient environments.

       Semester 4               (PT 5933; Clinical Experience I)  6 weeks, full time, in an acute care hospital.

       Semester 6               (PT 6804; Clinical Experience II) 7 weeks, full time, at EITHER a neuro rehabilitation site OR an orthopedic site.

       Semester 7               (PT 6021; Clinical Experience III) 7 weeks, full time, at EITHER a neuro rehabilitation site OR an orthopedic site.

       Semester 8               (PT 6816; Clinical Internship) 12 weeks, full time, in an area that is of the student's choosing, depending on their  
                                        professional goals and interests.

After assignment to a clinical site, the student is responsible for reading the specific contract, and for meeting the criteria of that site.


Health and Insurance Requirements for Clinical Education:

• Health history and record of immunizations
• Measles vaccination, mumps, tetanus and completed Hepatitis B vaccination series.
• Valid CPR Certification
• Proof of malpractice liability insurance (fee included in tuition payment)
• Proof of medical insurance including emergency care
• TB screening test and/or health clearance
• Additional immunizations required by the State of Texas, the University or the clinical site
• Proof of knowledge of blood borne pathogens
• Proof of training in HIPAA regulations

  NOTE: All these items must be current during the entire academic program.

Criminal background screens and drug screens will be conducted during the first semester of the program. The cost of these screens is kept as low as possible and is the responsibility of the student. For many clinical sites, successfully "passing" the screens conducted at this time will be sufficient. Some clinical sites may require a more current screen. In this case, the student is responsible for the arrangement and the cost of the additional testing.


Information on Clinical Sites:

Number of sites currently under contract with Texas Woman’s University: approx. 350, throughout the United States.

Types of clinical practice settings:

• Acute care with various specialty areas (neuro/ortho trauma, ICU, wound care, etc.)
• Rehabilitation centers/institutes
• Outpatient clinics          
• Pediatric hospitals/clinics
• Wellness and Performance Arts centers
• Women’s health clinics
• Industrial medicine centers
• Sports medicine clinics
• Skilled nursing/Extended care facilities
• Home health services
• Transitional living centers
• Public school settings
• Public health facilities
• Research Centers

Additional Cost for Clinical Education:

At least one and possibly two clinical experiences will be scheduled out of commuting distance from the campus. Students should be prepared for the additional expenses of housing, travel and meals for these internships. When necessary, every effort is made to allow single parents with small children to remain within commuting distance, although specific internship sites can not be guaranteed.

The program is completed in May. At this time, graduates are eligible for Temporary Licensure and to sit for the licensure exam, in order to practice physical therapy in the state of Texas. Those graduates who plan to practice in other states will need to contact the specific licensing board for individual state license requirements.  

For specific information not addressed here, you may email Dr. Peggy Gleeson, Director of Clinical Education. PGleeson@twu.edu