Clinical Education Overview
Clinical education is a vital component of the DPT curriculum, offering students the opportunity to treat patients/clients with diseases and conditions representative of those seen in practice across the lifespan and the continuum of care. It's a chance to experience team care and an interdisciplinary approach to health services where students can integrate and apply didactic knowledge, develop professional attitudes, and practice their clinical skills.
Are you at a clinic interested in working with our students?
Contact our Director of Clinical Education today!
Johanna Bergh, PT, DPT
Interim Director of Clinical Education (DCE)
Voice: (415) 514-6773
Email: [email protected]
Our clinical education team also includes
- Sarah Pawlowsky, PT, DPT: Assistant Director of Clinical Education
- Stephen Baxter, PT, MPT, DPT, EdD(c): PT 410 Course Director
- Christian Mendoza: DPT Clinical Education & Program Coordinator
For a full list of all leadership and roles around clinical education, please see the ACAPT Clinical Education Glossary.
Clinical Experience Courses
The DPT curriculum includes integrated clinicals (ICs) and three full-time clinical experiences (34 weeks total) spaced throughout th ethree years.
Students are required to complete a variety of clinical experiences in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Integrated clinical experiences are at local clinics and the full-time experiences take place at a variety of clinics and health care facilities throughout California and partnering states. For a more detailed view of how the clinical education program fits into the curriculum, please see our curriculum graphic.
| Clinical Experience | Occurence |
|---|---|
| PT 410 Integrated Clinical Experience | Four full days in first year |
| PT 801 First Clinical Experience | Summer of second year (full-time, 10 weeks) |
| PT 802 Intermediate Clinical Experience | Winter of second year (full-time, 12 weeks) |
| PT 418 Terminal Clinical Experience | Spring of third year (full-time, 12 weeks) |
Integrated clinical experiences introduce students to clinical environments and support the development of clinical reasoning, professional behaviors, and interpersonal skills. Under supervision, learners begin to apply academic knowledge in real-world settings, connect coursework to patient care, and engage collaboratively with healthcare teams.
Full-time clinical experiences must be completed in at least one inpatient and one outpatient setting, and learners must achieve a passing grade in all three to meet program graduation requirements. During the clinical experiences, learners submit weekly planning forms, goals and reflections, participate in group forums, present in-services, and work under the supervision of a licensed PT.
Clinical Settings & Patient Populations
Settings
- Inpatient clinical settings: Acute Care/Inpatient Hospital Facility/Acute Rehabilitation Facility (ARU); Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)/Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Facility (ECF/Nursing Home), Long-Term Acute Care Facilities (LTAC)
- Outpatient clinical settings: Industrial/Occupational Health Facility; Outpatient Hospital; Outpatient Private Practice; Pediatric Clinics
Patients
Patient populations cover the lifespan (pediatric, adult, geriatric), and patients/clients with a variety of diagnoses spanning the neuromuscular, cardiovascular/pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and integumentary systems.
Additional Expenses for Clinical Experiences
Students are responsible for all additional expenses related to their clinical experiences, including transportation (some clinical sites may not be accessible by public transportation) and living arrangements. Some facilities are able to provide assistance in terms of housing, meals, parking, or stipends, and this information can be found in Exxat or by contacting the site’s SCCE. Other facilities may have additional costs for site-specific onboarding requirements or being added to their electronic medical record systems.
You are also responsible for supplying your own “tools of the trade”, which may include:
- Goniometer
- Watch
- Guarding belt
- Reflex hammer
- Tape measure
- Stethoscope
- Pocket-sized notebook (suggested for keeping patient notes)
- Lab jacket (if required by the site)
Patient/Client Right to Refuse Care
Students must identify themselves to all patients as Doctor of Physical Therapy students being supervised by a clinical instructor (this includes wearing a student name badge). Patients/clients have the right to refuse physical therapy services provided by a student, and these requests must be honored by the student and the clinical instructor. This right includes refusal to allow a student to observe treatment.