Skip to main content

2013-2014 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

Search Help

Physical Therapy - Program Description

For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the College of Health Professions section in this catalog.

College of Health Professions (CHP)

Department of Physical Therapy

Degree: Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Faculty

Chairman: Peck. Professors: Peck, Stevenson, Vaughn; Associate Professors: Alderink, Hoogenboom, Assistant Professors: Baker, Goehring, Green, Harro, Kenyon, Kinne, Ozga, Ritch, Shoemaker, Sobeck, Stickler.

Career Description

Physical therapy is the care and services provided by or under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist, including (1) examining clients with physical impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities or other health-related conditions in order to determine a diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention; (2) designing, implementing and modifying therapeutic interventions to address impairments and functional limitations; (3) preventing injury, impairments, functional limitations, and disability, including the promotion and maintenance of fitness, health, and quality of life in all age groups; and (4) engaging in consultation, education, and research.

Physical therapists provide clients, infants through elderly adults, with services at the preventive, acute, and rehabilitative stages directed toward achieving enhanced functional independence. Physical therapists interact and practice in collaboration with a variety of health professionals. They educate and inform others about the services they offer and their effective and cost-efficient delivery. Physical therapists are required to be licensed by the states in which they practice.

Career Opportunities

Physical therapy provides excellent employment potential. The field continues to show growth in clinical responsibilities and in new areas of clinical practice. Some examples of settings in which physical therapists are employed include acute care hospitals, rehabilitation settings, outpatient offices, sports medicine clinics, athletic teams, school systems, centers for the disabled, skilled nursing facilities, home health care, industry, research centers, and universities.

Mission

To advance the profession of physical therapy through excellence in education, scholarship and service.

Vision

Our vision is to produce reflective physical therapy practitioners who demonstrate excellence in clinical practice, education, consultation, and research to meet the physical therapy needs of society. We strive to transform students personally and professionally. We challenge our students to achieve distinction in examination, evaluation, intervention, outcomes, and prevention of movement dysfunction. In addition, we nurture the development of leadership, for both faculty and students, to address societal health care needs, link evidence to practice, and make ethical decisions.

Core Values

  • Professional and ethical behavior
  • Respect and appreciation of differences
  • Lifelong learning
  • Excellence in teaching, scholarship, practice
  • Appreciation of personal well-being
  • Collegiality and collaboration
  • Social responsibility
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Reflective practice
  • Advocacy
  • Leadership

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; Telephone: 703-706-3245; email: [email protected]; website: http://www.capteonline.org.

Undergraduates Interested in Physical Therapy

Incoming freshmen should select a major and work with an academic advisor in that department, as well as with the student services pre-physical therapy advisor. Suggested majors include but are not limited to health professions, biology, biomedical science, biopsychology, movement science, and athletic training. All of the physical therapy prerequisite curriculum course requirements must be taken for a letter grade.

Reasons to Attend PT at GVSU

  • Faculty credentials include 9 with Ph.D., Ed.D., J.D., D.Sc., and 9 with clinical specializations in orthopedics, neurology, geriatrics, manual therapy, pediatrics and sports.
  • 35+ Adjunct faculty.
  • Curriculum includes research experience for all students.
  • Four advanced electives (sports PT, spinal manual therapy, neurologic PT and pediatric PT).
  • Thirty-eight weeks of full-time clinical internship in 5 settings across the United States.
  • State of the art facilities and equipment.
  • Four major hospitals close by to provide educational experiences.
  • 100% ultimate pass-rate on licensure examination.

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate assistants work with physical therapy, administrators and staff to provide quality education, research and service. Qualified candidates are selected on the basis of aptitude, interest and background.

Professional Conduct

The physical therapy faculty values and will mentor the following student abilities: commitment to learning, interpersonal skills, communication skills, effective use of time and resources, use of constructive feedback, problem-solving, professionalism, responsibility, critical thinking, and stress management. Definitions and criteria will be provided upon entry into the program.

DPT Completion Requirements

Demonstration of completion of the 120 credits in the professional curriculum is required for completion of the Doctor of Physical Therapy.

General Degree Requirements

General graduate academic policies and regulations can be found in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog.

Criminal background check, drug screen check, proof of immunizations and antibody titer checks are required prior to participation in full-time clinical experiences. The cost of this evaluation will be the responsibility of the student.

DPT Admission Requirements

Grand Valley State Universitys (GVSU) Clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program utilizes the Physical Therapist Centralized Application System (PTCAS) for the application process. Please refer to www.ptcas.org to get general information about the PTCAS process. GVSU specific information is posted on the PTCAS website. Students may begin applying when the application portal opens on July 1, 2013.

All application and supporting documents for PTCAS and GVSU have a receipt deadline of October 15. It is strongly recommended that applicants submit application materials 4-6 weeks prior to October 15 to allow for PTCAS processing time.

Program eligibility requires the following:

Completion of Bachelors degree.

Completion of Prerequisite courses. All prerequisites must be taken for letter grades. The prerequisites and undergraduate degree must be completed by the first day of classes of the professional program.

Prerequisite Course Name GVSU Course Equivalent
Introductory biology (that includes cellular structure and function) with lab BIO 120
Anatomy with lab BMS 208 & 309, strongly preferred
Physiology with lab BMS 290 & 291, strongly preferred
Anatomy & Physiology I & II may substitute for the above 2 requirements BMS 250 & 251
Exercise physiology MOV 304
College algebra or trigonometry or calculus MTH 122 or 123 or 125 or 201
Statistics STA 215
Two sequential courses in physics with lab PHY 220 & 221
Introductory psychology PSY 101
Lifespan developmental psychology PSY 364
Introductory sociology or social problems or cultural anthropology SOC 201 or 205 or ANT 204

Communication and interpersonal skills. On-site interview may be required. Practice interviews for GVSU student and alumni are available by contacting Career Services.

Ability to perform all Essential Functions of the physical therapy program.

Program eligibility requires SUBMISSION of the following:

PTCAS Admission materials: www.ptcas.org

  • PTCAS online application.
  • Official transcripts from ALL colleges and universities attended. Students must have a minimum average GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale in prerequisite course requirements, and a 3.2 overall GPA to be considered for admission.
  • Two recommendations. Submit the names and email addresses of your two references on the PTCAS electronic application. Your references complete and return the electronic form directly to PTCAS. A licensed physical therapist with whom you have worked / job shadowed / volunteered must complete 1 of the 2 recommendations. The deadline for receipt is October 15.
  • PTCAS application fees.
  • Documentation of volunteer / work / job shadow PT hours on the PTCAS application. A minimum of 50 hours of observational experience in physical therapy is required at the time of application. The experience may be volunteer or paid. Observational experience in a variety of clinical settings is valued. Examples of clinical settings include in-patient, out-patient, extended care, and school. GVSU does not require students to submit PTCAS Verification forms.
  • Educational, professional, leadership, scholarly and volunteer activities. These are valued and taken into consideration in the admission consideration process. All activities should be documented on the PTCAS application.

GVSU Admission materials:

  • GVSU Graduate Application Form (Physical Therapy). This form is available through the PTCAS online application (PTCAS Supplemental Form) or you may access it directly via GVSU.
  • $30 application fee. Note: Students who have previously paid an undergraduate or graduate application fee to GVSU do not need to pay this fee again.
  • *Official results from the GRE general and written test (Graduate Record Exam). Subject tests are not required. GRE scores must be sent directly to GVSU's Admission's Office; use GVSU GRE code 1258.

International Student Admission materials: In addition to the required PTCAS and GVSU admissions materials, the following items must be sent directly to GVSUs Admissions Office.

  • *Original or certified original transcripts.
  • *Official TOEFL test score. Minimum of 610 (paper-based) or 253 (computer-based) or 102 (internet-based) required.
  • *Statement of financial support (refer to GVSU Physical Therapy Supplemental Form).
  • *Official credential evaluation (WES, ECE).

*These test scores and documents must be sent directly to:
Grand Valley State University
Admissions Office
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401-9403

Graduate Outcomes

Students graduate in 36 months. Students may take the national licensing exam during their last semester or after graduation. 90%+ pass the exam on the first attempt. 100% pass with subsequent attempts. 100% are successful at job placement in Michigan and across the United States.

Progression, Retention and Termination

A student must achieve passing grades in every course to meet the prerequisite requirement of the next semesters courses. Any course grade that results in probation may result in the student being held back one year. A grade of F always results in the student being held back a year. A graduate GPA less than 3.0 results in dismissal from the graduate school.

Grounds for Probation

  1. A final grade below a 2.0 (C) in BMS 427, 428 or 461.
  2. A final course grade below a 2.7 (B-) in a required PT, PSY or STA course for which a letter grade is submitted.
  3. A cumulative graduate level GPA less than 3.0 (B) after completion of nine or more hours of graduate level course work (i.e., at the end of semester one; semester one BMS 427 and 461 do not count in graduate GPA).
  4. A final grade of no credit in PT 636, PT 656, PT 675, PT 677, PT 681 or PT 696.
  5. Failure to remediate a specific course requirement at the required level that leads to faculty recommendation for probation.
  6. Having three faculty letters of reprimand regarding professional conduct on file.
  7. Faculty recommendation to withhold student from clinical education experience due to deficient professional behavior.

Clinical Education

Students will not be allowed to participate in clinical experiences if there is a reason to believe that they are unprepared for this type of experience. Sufficient reasons include:

  1. Probationary status.
  2. Questions about the student's ability to safely manage patients.
  3. Evidence of unethical or illegal behavior.
  4. Medical or psychological conditions which could endanger the safety of the student or the patients entrusted to them, or that prevent the student from fully participating in the clinical experience.
  5. Problems identified with professional behaviors may result in a student being regarded by faculty as unprepared for clinical assignment. With the assistance of faculty, the student must resolve the problem area prior to the clinical assignment.
  6. Clinical education courses are sequenced (I, II, III, IV, V). If a student does not satisfactorily complete one course, he/she may not progress to the next course without completion of remedial work or repeat of the course.

Grounds for Removal from the PT Program

Any one of the following items may constitute grounds for removal from the program:

  1. Failure to complete required remedial work at the required level while on probation.
  2. Failure to complete items required in a remediation contract at the required level while on probation.
  3. Final grades in 2 consecutive semesters that result in probation.
  4. Failure to demonstrate continued competency of past course content.
  5. At the time of application to physical therapy, failure to report a felony record or arrest for a crime for which criminal charges are pending.
  6. Evidence of unethical, illegal or dishonest behavior in academic or community life from the date that GVSUs offer of admission is accepted to the date of graduation.
  7. A cumulative graduate grade point of 2.0 or below after nine hours of graduate level course work (i.e., at the end of semester one).
  8. A cumulative graduate level GPA less than 3.0 (B) after completion of 18 hours of graduate level course work (i.e., at or after the end of semester two).

Program Location

  • Semester 1 is at Pew Campus Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences and Allendale campus.
  • Semester 2-6 and 8 are at Pew Campus Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences.
  • Clinical experiences are in Michigan and other selected states during semesters 3, 5, 7, & 9.

Website: www.gvsu.edu/pt

The following program is available:

Doctor of Physical Therapy


If you are in need of assistance please submit any questions or comments.