An elective course that investigates topics related to physical therapy.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
3 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Skill in basic patient care procedures will be acquired in this laboratory course. These include correct body mechanics, infection control, wheelchair and assistive device application, gait training, patient positioning and draping, transfer techniques including handling lines and tubes and assessment of vital signs.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
3 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course is designed to improve the students' speaking understanding of clinically-relevant Spanish commonly used in physical therapy practice. (Students will be grouped according to proficiency.)

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

This introduction to the clinical setting will assist students in integrating their didactic knowledge thus far in the curriculum into clinical practice. Acculturation to the profession is a key component of this course.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
4 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
4 Other Hours

Thermal, mechanical, and electrotherapeutic modalities and techniques commonly used in physical therapy practice are studied. Therapeutic effects of heat, cold, sound, electricity, light, water, and mechanical interventions are assessed, and practical applications of these modalities are demonstrated.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
3 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Students will identify bony landmarks, tendons, muscles, joint boundaries, and ligaments of the trunk, head, and extremities. This identification will be extended to include visualization of the locations and boundaries of deeper structures including bones, deep muscles, and internal organs.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
3 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

A comprehensive review of the integumentary system concentrating on the prevention of integument disruption and management of patients with open wounds, burns, and other dermatologic disorders is presented. Attention is given to the examination of and intervention for integumentary conditions across the lifespan. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
3 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course introduces the student to physical principles of imaging methods and provides a framework for interpreting medical images. Medical imaging systems include conventional X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine (PET and SPECT), and ultrasound. Basic concepts in medical image processing and analysis, as well as medical applications, will be introduced. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

Course work completed by the student across the first year of the curriculum is integrated in this seminar. Course work includes part-time clinical experiences . The student will take a comprehensive exam demonstrating their mastery of curricular content, permitting them to begin their second year of didactic coursework. Comprehensive case studies are presented to the student, who must demonstrate proficiency in patient management skills. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
1 Other Hour

Course work completed by the student across the second year of the curriculum is integrated in this seminar. Course work includes part-time clinical experiences. The students will take a comprehensive exam demonstrating their mastery of curricular content, permitting them to go on their full-time clinical experiences. Comprehensive case studies are presented to the student, who must demonstrate proficiency in patient management skills.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

This is the first of two Capstone courses for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. The Capstone courses will culminate in a completed study, a manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal, and a poster appropriate for presentation at a scholarly conference. The Capstone courses build upon relevant research content and experiences integrated across the DPT curriculum. By the end of the first Capstone course, students will complete a review of the literature, design a study, have data collection in progress, and begin to draft early components of the manuscript.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

PT Capstone Project II This course continues the schorlarly project begun in PT 6116. All students must produce a manuscript suitable for publication in a faculty- approved peer- reviewed journal and a poster appropriate for presentation at a state or national conference.

Department: Physical Therapy

1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

Ethical principles and legal factors which influence healthcare in general and physical therapy practice in Texas are introduced. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Attributes, behaviors, and values embodied by physical therapists in the conduct of professional practice, including documentation skills, teaching and learning principles, and maintenance of effective therapeutic relationships are introduced. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

An evaluation of the musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiopulmonary, and integumentary conditions encountered by physical therapists, with emphasis on physical therapist diagnosis are presented. Recognition of signs and symptons associated with various conditions beyond the scope of physical therapist intervention is developed, enabling the practitioner to make appropriate referrals. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Foundational information concerning pharmacologic interventions and how drugs can be used as part of a comprehensive healthcare and rehabilitation regimen are the focus of this course. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This laboratory course is an introduction to the physical therapy examination and clinical reasoning process. Focus is on developing knowledge and skills to select and administer evidence-based tests and measures commonly used in physical therapy practice.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
6 Total Contact Hours
6 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

The neural, physical, and behavioral processes that govern human motor performance across the lifespan are studied. Theories of motor learning and relearning following trauma are emphasized, with attention given to how intervention and feedback variables impact the learning process. Factors that influence postural control during life are addressed. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Students will acquire basic patient care skills in this course, including: correct body mechanics, infection control, patient positioning and draping, transfer training, gait training, lines and tubes management during mobility, low-tech assistive technology (including manual wheelchairs and gait assistive devices), vital sign assessment, and movement system analysis.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
4 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

Clinical Exercise Physiology This course focuses on the acute and adaptive physiological and metabolic responses to endurance and resistance exercise for normal and clinical populations. Physical therapists must understand the responses of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, endocrine, thermoregulatory, and renal systems in order to perfomr safe exercise testing.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
4 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

Emerging Trends in PT This course focuses on emerging trends in the contemporary healthcare environment that are relevant to physical therapy practice. These include, but are not limited to, new technologies and evolving healthcare delivery models.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Concepts developed in Research Methods, with a focus on incorporating scientific evidence into physical therapy practice, are continued. The student is exposed to the discipline of evaluating and incorporating the findings of scientific literature in the conduct of clinical practice. Students will focus on the utility of various study designs, the statistical analysis used in these studies, and how this information informs clinical practice.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Content introduced in Exercise Physiology/Prescription will be expanded, with a focus on analysis of movement, and development and modification of safe and evidence-based exercises. This course focuses on physical therapy exercise prescription for clinical populations and for health promotion.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
4 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
1 Lecture Hour
0 Other Hours

Course focuses on the physical therapy management of impairments related to changes across the lifespan to the neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, integumentary, and neurosensory (communication, cognition, affective) systems. Special emphasis will be placed on aging adults.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course focuses on special populations and emerging trends in the contemporary healthcare environment that are relevant to physical therapy practice.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Basic research methods, measurement protocols, and applied statistics, for the purpose of critiquing scientific literature are introduced. Research design (experimental and non-experimental) and common statistical tests (parametric and nonparametic) are reviewed. The course emphasis is on the critique and application of research literature.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Psychosocial aspects of health and disability are explored from individual and population health perspectives. Topics include culture, communication, social determinants of health, health behavior change, motivational interviewing, and pain science.

Department: Physical Therapy

2 Credit Hours
2 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

PT Exercise Prescription This course focuses on physical therapy exercise prescription for healthy and clinical populations. Students will apply the physiological and metabolic concepts learned in the prior semester to the development and modification of safe and effective exercises.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
NaN Total Contact Hours
0-3 Lab Hours
0-2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Evidence-based Practice in Physical Therapy (3-0). Concepts developed in Research Methods, with a focus on incorporating scientific evidence into physical therapy practice are continued. The student is exposed to the discipline of retrieving, evaluating, and incorporating the findings of scientific literature in the conduct of clinical practice. Students will focus on the critical evaluation of new information from research findings and integration of the best research evidence into clinical practice. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course provides theoretical and practical instruction for the evaluation and management of physical therapy patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders. Emphasis is placed on the etiology and pathology of selected cardiopulmonary medical conditions, as well as the therapeutic management of patients with these conditions. Students will create a physical therapy plan of care for selected cardiovascular and pulmonary dysfunctions using diagnostic, pharmacologic, and clinical laboratory data. Concepts of health promotion and fitness are explored. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Thermal, mechanical, and electrotherapeutic biophysical agents and techniques commonly used in physical therapy practice are studied. Therapeutic effects of heat, cold, light, water, and electricity are assessed, and practical applications of these agents are demonstrated.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Musculoskeletal I: Spine: This course focuses on the examination, evaluation, and management of patients/clients with surgical and non-surgical orthopedic conditions of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines; temporomandibular joint, pelvis, sacroiliac and pubis joints including the management of orthotics.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Musculoskeletal II: Lower Extremity: This course focuses on the examination, evaluation, and management of patients/clients with surgical and non-surgical orthopedic conditions of the hip, knee, or foot/ankle, including the management of orthotics and prosthetics.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Musculoskeletal III: Upper Extremity: This course focuses on the examination, evaluation, and management of patients/clients with surgical and non-surgical orthopedic conditions of the shoulder, elbow, or wrist/hand including the management of orthotics and prosthetics.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Building on anatomical knowledge presented in Neuroscience for Health Sciences, this course offers a systematic review of clinical disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems, with emphasis on accompanying sensorimotor sequelae. Basic neurological tests and measures are introduced along with basic treatment interventions. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

The etiology and pathology of neurological and orthopedic dysfunction in the pediatric patient/client from birth through age 18 are presented. Emphasis lies in clinical application of examination and intervention for the pediatric patient in early childhood. Restricted to major: PT.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course focuses on the fundamental physiology of exercise and in introduction to clinical exercise prescription. Physical therapists must understand the acute and adaptive physiological and metabolic responses to endurance and resistance exercise in normal and clinical populations. Proper understanding of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, endocrine, thermoregulatory, and renal system responses facilitate implementation of safe exercise testing and prescription.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
5 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Management theory and fiscal discipline relevant to healthcare delivery as it relates to physical therapy are presented. Alternate means and sources of healthcare delivery are assessed, as well as administrative factors that impact care giving. Concepts and strategies applicable to the marketing and management of physical therapy practice are discussed. The principles and ethics underlying effective conflict resolution are emphasized.

Department: Physical Therapy

3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course is the 1st in a series of 4 full-time clinical experiences. A synthesis of applied knowledge acquired from the didactic curriculum applied to the physical therapy management of patients/clients is integrated in this clinical experience. Students are placed in a clinical setting that meets Doctor of Physical Therapy Program requirements. (8 weeks, full-time)

Department: Physical Therapy

4 Credit Hours
40 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
40 Other Hours

This course is the 2nd in a series of 4 full-time clinical experiences. A synthesis of applied knowledge acquired from the didactic curriculum and prior clinical experience applied to the physical therapy management of patients/clients are integrated in this clinical experience. Students are placed in a clinical setting that meets Doctor of Physical Therapy Program requirements. (8 weeks, full-time)

Department: Physical Therapy

4 Credit Hours
40 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
40 Other Hours

This course is the 3rd in a series of 4 full-time clinical experiences. A synthesis of applied knowledge acquired from the didactic curriculum and prior clinical experiences applied to the physical therapy management of patients/clients is integrated in this clinical experience. Students are placed in a clinical setting that meets Doctor of Physical Therapy Program requirements. (8 weeks full-time)

Department: Physical Therapy

4 Credit Hours
40 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
40 Other Hours

The Kinematics and kinetics of the human body, postural control, and the basics of gait analysis are comprehensively studied. Biomechanical principles that control human movement are applied to motion analysis.

Department: Physical Therapy

4 Credit Hours
6 Total Contact Hours
3 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

Building on knowledge acquired in Neuromuscular Rehabilitation I, this course develops clinical approaches to the long-term management of pathology and trauma in neurologic patients. Using differential diagnosis, students develop the ability to identify neurologic disorders in real and simulated patients, with the goal of implementing an effective plan of care. Emphasis on clinical application.

Department: Physical Therapy

4 Credit Hours
8 Total Contact Hours
6 Lab Hours
2 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours

This course is the 4th and final full-time clinical experience for the physical therapy student. Curricular objectives are culminated in a 12 week clinical experience in a setting that will advance the student's skills in a specific area of practice. Professionalism, autonomous practice, and evidence-based practice are emphasized in all practice settings. Students must integrate all aspects of patient and practice management skills within the individual's practice setting. (12 weeks-full-time)

Department: Physical Therapy

6 Credit Hours
32 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
32 Other Hours