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The mission of the Department of Physical Therapy supports the missions of the Westbrook College of Health Professions and the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í. By preparing students to be physical therapists and contributing members of society, the D.P.T. program fosters the achievement of the university's mission.

Core Values

The Department of Physical Therapy values excellence in student-focused teaching and learning, evidence-based practice, service to the community and profession, interprofessional collaboration, scholarship, and clinical practice.

Student-Focused

• Friendly, collegial atmosphere
• Low student-to-faculty ratios
• Supportive and engaged faculty and professional staff

Academic Excellence

• Expert academic and clinical faculty
• State-of-the-art equipment and technology
• Experiential learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving
• Quality clinical experiences
• High standards and expectations for student admission and retention
• Continuous program improvement

Evidence-Based Practice

• Critical appraisal of evidence
• Integrate evidence, expertise, and patient values
• Best practice

Community and Diversity

• Professional and community service
• Embrace and learn from diversity
• Non-discriminatory
• Academic-Community partnership

Professional Conduct

• Academic Integrity
• Respect for all individuals

​​Trustworthy and Truthful

• Confidentiality of patient-therapist relationship
• Sound judgment
• Competence and professional development
• Pro bono service
• Life-long learning

Collaboration

• Interprofessional Grand Rounds, seminars, and symposia
• Research and scholarship
• Teaching and learning

Scholarship

• Student participation and choice
• Collaborative, interprofessional, and individual intellectual pursuits

Health and Wellness

• Whole person wellness
• Injury and disease prevention
• Promotion of healthy environments

Program Goals

The entry-level D.P.T. program is three (3) calendar years (eight (8) semesters) in length and includes a combination of classroom, laboratory, and clinical practicum experiences. The curriculum begins with the foundational sciences, through which the student explores and studies normal human structure and function, and fundamental physical therapy techniques. From this critical underpinning, the student engages in the evidence-based approach to the physical therapy management of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities related to movement, function, and health across the life span. The curriculum sequence is generally organized according to key body systems (i.e., musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, neuromuscular, integumentary). Coursework includes the study of the functional and psychosocial impacts of health conditions, relevant medical and surgical interventions, and the physical therapy tests, measures, and interventions utilized within the patient/client management model.

The student is also introduced to the physical therapist's role in disease prevention and health promotion, education, consultation, legislation and policy-making, and management and administration. The student engages in scholarly inquiry, either by completing a case report or conducting research under the direction and mentorship of a faculty member. The student may also explore topics beyond those required in the professional curriculum through elective courses or workshops offered by the Department and College.

Students complete three (3) full-time clinical practica, totaling thirty-six (36) weeks of clinical experience. Hundreds of clinical sites around the United States are available to provide a broad base of experiences in a variety of settings. The sites represent the continuum of health care practice settings including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient private practices, ambulatory care centers, skilled nursing facilities, school/preschool programs, and home health care. Full-time clinical practical experiences are integrated in the second and third professional years, enabling students to apply information learned in didactic courses to patients and clients.

The D.P.T. program at the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: . 

If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call (207) 221-4590 or email ptdepartment@une.edu.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) program is eight (8) semesters in length and includes a combination of classroom coursework, laboratory coursework, and three (3) full-time clinical practica. In addition to the one-hundred and six (106) required credits, students are invited to take up elective coursework offered by the department and by other graduate programs within the university.

*Please note: Curriculum is subject to change.

Conferring the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree is contingent upon the successful completion of academic and clinical coursework including a total of one-hundred and six (106) academic credits.

Academic Standards

The Department of Physical Therapy, the Westbrook College of Health Professions, and the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í are committed to offering a quality physical therapist education program that complies with the evaluative criteria of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. The program provides learning experiences to enable graduates to achieve the outcomes required for the practice of physical therapy. Please refer to the WCHP Graduate Program Progression Policies and Procedures (PDF) for detailed description of academic standards.

Essential Technical Standards

The essential technical standards are prerequisites for successful completion of the D.P.T. program at 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í. Guidelines for reasonable accommodation are discussed. Please read this document carefully to determine whether you possess the abilities and skills reflected in the technical standards below. The standards apply to program activities that take place in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings.

Principles

• Physical Therapy is an intellectually, physically, and psychologically demanding profession.
• The obligation and mission of the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í D.P.T. program is to produce effective and competent physical therapists who are best able to serve the needs of society. Therefore, all applicants, regardless of disability, will be held to the same admission standards. Once accepted, all D.P.T. degree candidates will be held to the same technical standards, with reasonable accommodations provided when necessary and appropriate.
• Individuals with documented disabilities applying to the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í D.P.T. program will be expected to have completed the same academic prerequisites as their non-disabled peers. No applicant is required to disclose the details of disability and no otherwise qualified individual will be denied admission to the D.P.T. program based solely upon a disabling condition.
• Upon acceptance, the Westbrook College of Health Professions, under the law, is obligated to provide reasonable accommodations to D.P.T. candidates and students with documented disabilities who are registered with the University’s Student Access Center while completing the academic and clinical requirements for graduation from the program.

Reasonable Accommodations

• Are provided to help minimize the impact of the student’s disability, provide equal access to the University’s programs and services while upholding the academic, clinical, and technical standards of the D.P.T. program.
• Are provided to assist the student in learning, performing, and satisfying the fundamental standards, so long as the student provides comprehensive documentation establishing their disability status prior to the need for reasonable accommodation.
• Are provided only to the extent that such accommodation does not fundamentally alter the academic and/or technical standards of the Department of Physical Therapy or interfere with the rights of other students.
• Do not exempt D.P.T. candidates from completing certain tasks deemed essential.
• Do not include reliance on peers. When a candidate’s ability to function is compromised (with or without accommodation) the candidate must demonstrate alternative means and/or abilities to acquire essential information and demonstrate essential tasks without reliance upon another person to help perform that essential task.
• Are determined by the 911±¬ÁÏÍøºìÁì½í Student Access Center in consultation with D.P.T. faculty.

In addition, D.P.T. faculty are available to work with candidates with disabilities to help identify strategies that might assist them in performing technical standards.

Candidate Declaration of abilities and skills:

• Before the start of D.P.T. classes, matriculating students must indicate that they possess the abilities reflected in the technical standards described below, either with or without reasonable accommodation.
• A D.P.T. candidate with a disability who wishes reasonable accommodation must contact the Student Access Center, Portland Campus, Lower Level, Ginn Hall, Phone: (207) 221-4418, Fax: (207) 523-1919. An offer of admission may be withdrawn or a D.P.T. candidate may be withdrawn from the program if it becomes apparent at any time 1) that they cannot complete the technical standards even with accommodations, 2) that the accommodations needed are not reasonable, or 3) that fulfilling the functions would create a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of the student or others.

Technical Standards: Abilities and Skills

Matriculation into the D.P.T. program assumes certain essential cognitive, emotional, and technical skills. Reflected in the standards that follow are those abilities and skills that degree candidates must possess to engage safely and competently in required learning activities. The abilities and skills are described in five (5) domains, including observation skills; communication skills; motor skills (fine and gross); intellectual-conceptual, and quantitative abilities; and behavioral and social/emotional attributes.

I. Observation

Observation requires the functional use of vision, hearing, touch, and the use of common sense. Candidates must have visual perception, which includes depth and acuity. A candidate must be able to observe lectures, laboratory dissection of cadavers, and lecture and laboratory demonstrations. The candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately and obtain an appropriate medical history directly from the patient or guardian. Examples in which these observational skills are required include observation of skin color; breathing regularity; temperature of skin; muscle tone; facial expressions; palpation of peripheral pulses, bony prominences, and ligaments; visual and tactile evaluation for areas of inflammation; and visual and tactile assessment of the presence and degree of swelling. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand, noting nonverbal as well as verbal signals. The candidate must have sufficient vision, hearing, and touch to detect patient/client needs in a busy clinical environment. The candidate must be able to read and interpret equipment, patient charts, and diagnostic tests. The candidate must also be able to accurately monitor dials, displays, and equipment used in treatment of patients including exercise equipment and electrical modalities.

II. Communication

Communication includes speech, language, reading, writing, and computer literacy. Students must be able to communicate effectively, sensitively, and convey a sense of compassion and empathy with patients and their families, as well as perceive non-verbal communications, and to deal effectively with cultural and ethnic diversity. Physical therapy education presents exceptional challenges in the volume and breadth of required reading and the necessity to impart information to others. Candidates must be able to communicate quickly, effectively, and efficiently in oral and written English with all members of the healthcare team. Candidates must be able to complete forms according to directions in a complete and timely fashion. The candidate must be able to demonstrate the ability to deliver and receive complex information in one-on-one and group settings, respond to questions from a variety of sources, and respond appropriately to verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as explain complex information according to the listener’s needs and abilities, both formally and informally. A candidate must be able to complete paper and/or online forms and documentation according to directions in a timely fashion, accurately elicit information, and describe a patient’s change in mood, thought, activity, and posture. Candidates must be able to demonstrate sufficient communication skills to effectively train other D.P.T. candidates, patients, family, and support personnel.

III. Motor Skills

The candidate must have sufficient strength, endurance, and motor skills to effectuate the coordination of both gross and fine muscular movement, equilibrium, and the integrated use of touch and vision. Sufficient physical stamina is required to complete the rigorous course of didactic and clinical study. The candidate must be able to access and negotiate laboratories, classrooms, and workstations, attend clinical internships, and accomplish required tasks in the clinic and academic settings. The candidate must be able to perform emergency procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation; safely lift, transfer, and position patients; safely assist and guard patients during gait training; safely and effectively administer exercise and examination procedures that require resistance or facilitation; perform non-surgical wound debridement, and manually adjust exercise equipment and assistive devices. Long periods of sitting, standing, and moving are required in classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences. The candidate must demonstrate sufficient balance, coordination, and ability to accompany and detect loss of balance in patients who are walking; the ability to support and guard patients who lose their balance during walking on level surfaces, as well as on stairs and uneven terrains/ramps; sufficient freedom of movement to be able to participate in all classroom and clinical activities; and the ability to lift and carry heavy objects. Required movements may include pushing, pulling, standing, sitting for long periods of time with and without back support, twisting, kneeling, stooping, and bending. The candidate must be able to use motor skills to accurately assess changes in muscle tone, tissue and skin temperature, joint position, chest sounds and peripheral pulses, joint play, and other examination tests. The candidate must also be able to: effectively apply compression, traction, resistance, and percussion; and demonstrate sufficient fine motor skills to be able to manipulate small objects and write legibly.