The Mission of the DPT Program

The mission of the Department of Physical Therapy is to advance physical therapy practice by providing outstanding entry-level DPT education, post-graduate residencies, and clinical services; leading federally funded rehabilitation research; and training the next generation of rehabilitation researchers and leaders of our profession. The mission of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program is to educate outstanding entry-level physical therapists who provide excellent physical therapy services, integrate scientific inquiry into their clinical practice and have a well developed sense of professionalism and social responsibility.

(approved 5/9/09)

DPT Program Goals & Objectives

Goal: The Department of Physical Therapy will recruit, train, and graduate individuals who will become outstanding physical therapists capable of meeting the needs of our profession and the patients we serve. Graduates of the program will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and behaviors to:

• practice in a wide range of practice settings
• use evidence in guiding their clinical decision making
• behave professionally and seek advanced training

Graduates of the University of Delaware Doctor of Physical Therapy Program will enter the profession as physical therapist practitioners who:

Objective 1.1 have demonstrated knowledge of the foundational and clinical sciences necessary to practice physical therapy

Objective 1.2 are competent in performing physical therapy examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, and assessment of patients and clients across the lifespan and in a multitude of physical therapy settings

Objective 1.3 possess the skills to use the literature to direct their everyday clinical decision making

Objective 1.4 participate in the administration of physical therapy services including delegation and supervision of support personnel, scheduling, and reimbursement activities

Objective 1.5 display professional behaviors that reflect APTA’s core values of accountability, altruism, compassion/caring, excellence, integrity, professional duty and social responsibility in all professional interactions

Objective 1.6 demonstrate effective written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills

Objective 1.7 demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning through participation in continuing education courses, formal post-graduate coursework, professional development, self-directed learning, and mentoring activities

The physical therapy education program will:

Objective 1.8 recruit and retain outstanding DPT students

Objective 1.9 provide instruction related to the initial practice of physical therapy that incorporates evidence based practice

Objective 1.10 support a full service clinical practice staffed by outstanding clinicians who are non-tenure track, core faculty who teach in the curriculum

Objective 1.11 provide clinical experiences across the lifespan and in multiple settings including acute care, outpatient orthopedic, and rehabilitation settings with exposure to neurologic diagnoses

The core faculty of the physical therapy education program will:

Objective 1.12 provide outstanding instruction

Objective 1.13 model professionalism and social responsibility

Objective 1.14 produce cutting edge research and contribute to the advancement of physical therapist practice through outstanding scholarly activity