Physical Therapy

Clinical Education Affliates

General Information

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program has relationships with more than 150 clinical facilities that serve as sites for clinical education experiences.  These sites span the scope of physical therapy practice settings across the lifespan from  pediatrics through geriatrics.  In addition, students explore the continuum of care through their experiences including opportunities in the following: inpatient acute, subacute, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and extended care, outpatient hospital-based and private practices, school systems, as well as home health care.  Finally students are able to explore multiple specialty areas such as women’s health, integumentary/wound care, aquatics, vestibular/concussion, sports medicine, and more.    The locations of these sites range from the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area throughout Ohio and into several states across the US.  

CSU DPT students are required to complete a total of 38 weeks in full-time clinical education experiences towards graduation requirements.  They are expected to achieve entry-level professional practice requirements by the end of their traditional clinical education experiences, or at the end of the first 34 weeks.  Following this, students participate in an individually designed 7-week elective practicum experience.  These practica are designed through a collaboration between the student, CSU faculty member, and a facility clinical supervisor.  Students are expected to produce a project or product that can be utilized by the clinical site, as well as benefiting the student’s development.  Practica can take a variety of forms including: lab/clinic based research, administration and management, special clinical projects/program development, and/or specialized clinical practice settings.

Additional information can be found on the CSU DPT Clinical Education website at:  http://csudptclined.blogspot.com.  

 

COMMUNITY SERVICE-LEARNING

In addition to full-time clinical experiences, students participate in numerous part-time integrated clinical education experiences while they are in the academic portion of the program (e.g. Care Alliance, Cuyahoga Community College Preventative Care Center, and various other clinical labs off campus at many local facilities).

The Cleveland Care Alliance

In fall 2008, the CSU PT Program developed a partnership with the Cleveland Care Alliance, implementing a physical therapy pro bono service for their patients. Student physical therapists participate in physical therapy service delivery throughout their first and second years of the professional education program.   They are supervised by community based physical therapists, who donate their time to provide PT services at Care Alliance, in addition to maintaining full time employment at various other facilities throughout the Cleveland area.

More information about the Care Alliance can be found at www.carealliance.org/.

Preventative Care Center at Cuyahoga Community College

Since 2009, CSU PT students and faculty have collaborated with Cuyahoga Community College to provide physical therapy services to noninsured and underinsured adults at the Preventative Care Center.  Under the supervision of licensed physical therapists, CSU PT students work closely with Tri-C PTA students to provide needed PT services at very low cost.  In addition, the clinic is an interprofessional educational experience, as students work and learn alongside students from other disciplines including occupational therapy, medical assisting, and dietetic technology. 

For more information on Cuyahoga Community College’s Preventative Care Center, please visit the website at: http://www.tri-c.edu/community/community-services/community-health/preventative-care-center/index.html

Verb Ballet

A new initiative with a local ballet company has begun in fall 2016.  We hope in the future, that all DPT students will also have an opportunity to be involved in this community service learning experience.

For more information check out: verbballets.org