Clinical Education
Clinical education allows DPT students the opportunity to put what they have learned at TWU into practice in a clinical environment at clinics, hospitals and other health care facilities. Your experiences during the clinical education component 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 four 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.
Both the Houston and the Dallas campuses adhere to the same schedule for clinical education implementation.
Student Handbook
The DPT Program Student Handbook August 2023 contains information about the clinical education process at TWU along with many links to documents associated with Clin Ed objectives and grading, student related policies and evaluation forms. Links also exist to web-based information from the APTA and the Texas Consortium of Physical Therapy Clinical Education, Inc.
Health and Insurance Requirements for Clinical Education
- Measles vaccination, mumps, tetanus, Hepatitis C, 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
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; however, 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.
Clinical Practice Settings:
There are approximately 1000 clinical sites under contract with Texas Woman’s University. TWU is a member of SARA, National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.
Typical clinical practice settings include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:
- 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 experiences. When necessary, every effort is made to allow single parents with small children to remain within commuting distance, although specific internship sites cannot be guaranteed.
The program is completed in May. 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.
Additional Information
The Director of Clinical Education (DCE) at each campus is the faculty member responsible for coordinating the clinical education program. For specific information not addressed here, you may email either Dr. Stacy Flynn, sflynn@twu.edu, DCE in Houston, or Dr. Dale Anderle, DCE in Dallas.
Page last updated 8:55 AM, March 15, 2024