Clinical Education Experiences

The clinical education program at PNWU’s School of Physical Therapy will consist of both full-time clinical experiences and integrated clinical experiences embedded within classroom courses. Clinical education provides the opportunity to apply and solidify classroom didactic knowledge and hands-on laboratory skills (patient handling skills), to direct patient care, under the supervision of a clinical instructor, or faculty member.

The philosophy of the program, as it relates to these experiences, is for the doctoral-level graduate to be educated with a firm knowledge base with an emphasis on practice in rural and medically underserved communities. Additionally, they would be capable of critical thought, leading to effective analysis for implementation of examination techniques, assessment, and interpretation of evaluation data on which to make treatment plans and decisions, as well predicting treatment outcomes based on empirical research.

Full-time Clinical Experiences (3 experiences, 34 weeks total): Students will complete full-time experiences in a variety of settings, with at least one location in a rural or medically underserved area or that serves a medically underserved population, in line with the mission of the PNWU DPT program. In addition, students must complete one clinical in an inpatient setting and one clinical in an outpatient general setting. Full-time experiences occur in years 2 and 3 of the program as follows:

• Clinical Experience 1 – 9-weeks during semester 3 (Summer)
• Clinical Experience 2 – 9-weeks during semester 6 (Summer)
• Clinical Experience 3 – 16-weeks (or two 8-week) during the final semester 8 (Spring)

Integrated Clinical Experiences (4 experiences):Students will complete integrated experiences either off campus at community sites including the Yakima Union Gospel Mission (YUGM) Medical Care Center or on campus at the Center for Applied Movement Science (CAMS) laboratory, which will house a student-run, pro bono community-based clinic.

YUGM: This was established as a free clinic to meet the needs of community members experiencing hardships. As part of a service-learning component of the DPT curriculum, students will engage with healthcare providers in a clinical setting, while providing physical therapy services to men, women, and children (some of who are experiencing homelessness) under the direction of licensed physical therapy faculty.

The goal of this student-run clinic is to increase access to quality rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy services for underinsured and underserved populations in the Yakima Valley while expanding learning, training, and research opportunities for DPT students and faculty to complement the program’s curriculum and faculty research. Students will work with patients with various musculoskeletal, integumentary, cardiopulmonary, and neurological conditions leading to movement dysfunction or for general wellness/exercise programs. Students will also participate in a service-learning project by working in small groups to develop a wellness/prevention program within the community.

CAMS laboratory: This facility houses state-of-the-art equipment for evaluating and treating clients with movement dysfunction with an emphasis on chronic neurological conditions, especially those patients who continue to have movement dysfunction but have no access to physical therapy services. Diagnoses may consist of but are not limited to, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, balance and gait disorder, fall risk, injuries to muscle, bone, or joints, and functional problems related to chronic conditions.

The integrated clinical experiences improve access to physical therapy services for patients who are uninsured or underinsured in the local community. Not only does this provide a needed service in the community but allows students to have an opportunity to integrate classroom teaching into patient care very early on in the curriculum. The clinic activities support the DPT program’s mission to develop future PT leaders as movement experts who will infuse innovative, evidence-informed practice in rural and medically underserved communities throughout the Northwest. 

Students are responsible for all costs associated with all clinical education experiences including, but not limited to, travel, health care, emergency services, drug testing, criminal background checks, fingerprinting, meals, housing, and attire.