Department of Physical Therapy
Mission, Goals & Faculty Philosophy
Mission
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Department Goals
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Philosophy of the Faculty
Mission
The mission and goals of the Department of Physical Therapy address education, research, healthcare delivery, and community and professional service:
Educational Mission: To graduate highly competent physical therapists who are patient advocates, leaders in the community and the profession, who are prepared to treat a culturally diverse population of clients and pursue professional development opportunities.
Research Mission: To add to the body of knowledge in physical therapy (PT) by conducting research and fostering the use of evidence-based practice.
Clinical Practice Mission: To utilize PT knowledge and skills for the benefit of patients and society by providing efficient and effective health care.
Service Mission: To engage in service to the community and the profession.
Department Goals
Educational Goals: Our graduates will be: competent and reflective physical therapists, evidence-based practitioners, patient advocates, leaders in community and profession, culturally competent, pursuers of professional development and actively participate as part of an interprofessional health care team.
Research Goals: The PT faculty will: develop and maintain a departmental infrastructure to support collaborative and interdisciplinary research efforts among faculty members and each core faculty member will have a research agenda and will disseminate at least one peer reviewed scholarly product every 2 years.
Service Goals: The PT faculty will: Provide health-related services to different populations, including underserved populations and will improve health care indirectly through work with professional/service organizations (e.g., educating other health care providers, critically evaluating health related products, developing health-related guidelines).
The Philosophy of the Faculty
- Active engagement in the learning process facilitates integration and retention of the material being taught.
- Teaching and learning are essential components of PT practice.
- Engaging in reflection and integration of feedback as students will foster the development of reflective practitioners and life long learners.
- Affective learning can be influenced through interaction with the faculty as role models.
- Engaging in leadership and advocacy roles and interacting with diverse populations develop professional social skills.
- Evidence-based practice is a process that can be learned through experience and observation of role models.
- A foundation of basic principles and theories related to human movement is essential to clinical problem solving.
- An in-depth understanding of the four PT systems (musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular/pulmonary, and integumentary) is critical to physical therapy practice.
- Effective patient care relies on a holistic approach that integrates information about patients’ diverse needs and perspectives.
