Current DPT Students: Question Regarding Pre-Req Content at Community Colleges

[kingsandmen]

---

Members do not see this ad.

First off I've tried searching the forums however, I really only saw info on CC pre-reqs relating to people asking "can I still get in if I take them at a CC." This is not my question

My question is regarding the actual content of courses at a CC versus the university level, and their impact on your success in graduate studies. I was hoping that maybe someone currently in a DPT program who took the pre-reqs at a CC could chime in with their opinion of how preprepared they felt they were and if they had to go back and "re-fresh" anything since starting the program. I feel as though my A and P courses left out considerable details. I wondered had I taken it at a University would it have been to my benefit. My question really stems from my anxiety of starting soon mostly from knowing the amount of information i'll be expected to learn, the gravity of the loans I'm taking out and my non-major background. I've done research regarding the books used at different universities and though they differ I feel the content is overall pretty comparable to the book I used (saladin 5e). I read my book cover to cover.

Some info on myself. I was a non-pre pt related major and took all of my pre-req classes at a CC. I took the classes very seriously. In fact I really over-studied in all of those classes, hoping it would benefit me in the end. I know from reading threads on here that many say you cannot "prepare" for PT school many go as far as advising against it. Yet obviously everyone comes from quite different academic backgrounds regarding experience. For many people posting on here PT is a second career, for others they were kinesiology bachelors or masters students etc. So my question is regarding whether a student is at a disadvantage having only completed the pre-req at a CC and a bachelors in a non-related pre-pt/health care field. I'm sure people have made a similar journey and have gotten through the programs without a problem. Just looking for insight into it.


Thanks for any info on this.

 

[Bones26]

I'm like you. I have a non-PT related degree, and I took all of my prereqs at CC. I just finished my first semester in PT school, so others who are farther along in the program might have more input.

I haven't noticed a difference in "preparedness". My class is pretty diverse. We have several kinesiology majors, but we also have many non-traditional students who are getting into PT as a second career (myself included). I know that the people like me also took their prereqs at CC. My fellow CC friends and I did fine this first semester. I got 5 A's and 1 B, and I don't think my B can be attributed to taking prereqs at CC. I believe my friends did well also. We don't go into great detail about our grades with each other, but I don't think they got below a B in anything. If people in the program struggled, it wasn't because of their undergrad degree. It was due to poor study habits, difficult family situations, not asking for help, etc.

My A&P classes at CC were pretty lacking as well. My anatomy background was from a Pilates certification and working as a Pilates instructor and tech. During the semester, I was actually helping some kines majors understand points of origin and insertion and what action would result from muscle fibers shortening. I'm not putting down kines or their schools. We all learned the material. They helped me a lot with understanding exercise testing and prescription. My point is that people with non-kines degrees/backgrounds can do well in PT school, and I think once you get accepted everyone's basically on the same level. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and everyone can help each other.

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

I also did the vast majority of my science pre-reqs at CC (exception: straight up anatomy...I took anatomy lab at a CC though, and physiology).

I think the cadaver lab I had at CC (actually able to dissect) was extremely beneficial, but I realize not a lot of CCs, or even universities, allow undergrads to actually dissect, so I was ahead in that game.

I felt behind in kines, especially compared to kinesiology/exercise science majors. But, kines is not a pre-req for most schools, so I think any non-kines major felt that way too. Physics I was the first prereq I took, so it was the farthest back in my memory and I wish I had it a little more recently when it came to kines, just to remember some of the vectors stuff (although my CC physics I class never talked about vectors anyway. My physics II class I took at a different CC, and they were all about vectors so I was completely lost and tried to ignore it as much as I could.

Chemistry was pretty irrelevant (fortunately), since my general bio classes didn't cover any biochem stuff. My bio prep was lacking a bit, but again I took random bio classes that would fulfill the requirements since general bio I and II wouldn't fit in my schedule. My microbiology class at CC was extremely helpful, especially in immunology (which was our first topic in physiology in PT school). My generic bio class was useless, and I felt behind with some of the physiology biochem stuff. My physiology class wasn't all that helpful, because it was a special topics course and we only did case studies. But, the A&P classes taught at the CC (I never took them since I had anatomy as part of undergrad) seemed to be really helpful.

In the end I think it depends on how good your actual community college is when it comes to that subject matter...my prereqs were done at 3 different CCs, and I noticed huge differences in the rigor and preparation when it came to using them in grad school. The CC that has a well-known nursing program obviously had the best courses. That microbiology class I took was so helpful. Some of the other prereqs were more of a joke.

 

[markelmarcel]

I only took two courses at CC (prob and stats and developmental psych) so I can't really weigh in on that, but I will say that sometimes I DO feel that coming from a non-major is a bit of a drawback. Although, now that I have a full semester under my belt and got good grades I feel a little bit better, but at times I did struggle with how my classmates could "get it" quicker than me... I don't think it had anything to do with my pre-reqs and where I took them, but everything to do with the fact that I was coming from a completely unrelated background.

That being said, it is my school's job to prepare me to become a PT and if they fail at that, then they have failed me, not the other way around.

 

[kingsandmen]

I only took two courses at CC (prob and stats and developmental psych) so I can't really weigh in on that, but I will say that sometimes I DO feel that coming from a non-major is a bit of a drawback. Although, now that I have a full semester under my belt and got good grades I feel a little bit better, but at times I did struggle with how my classmates could "get it" quicker than me... I don't think it had anything to do with my pre-reqs and where I took them, but everything to do with the fact that I was coming from a completely unrelated background.

That being said, it is my school's job to prepare me to become a PT and if they fail at that, then they have failed me, not the other way around.

Hey thanks for commenting. I always thought of the school/student relationship as mutual, i.e both the student and school need to do their part. Anyway, which classes (or types of) are you referring to? Thanks

Also I did notice a few other important points. #1) You took classes at a university and still felt behind. That really answers my question. Pre-req classes are introductory no matter where you go. #2) You state that the non-major is a bigger factor. Yet as bones indicated earlier learning skills and strengths can be a significant factor in your success, i.e your major isn't the whole story. I guess my question becomes are the classes at PT school inclusive(or are you asked to draw upon your background)? I would assume they are inclusive since any major can apply but that if you had to draw upon your background at all it would on be for the initial PT foundational courses.

 

[markelmarcel]

Hey thanks for commenting. I always thought of the school/student relationship as mutual, i.e both the student and school need to do their part. Anyway, which classes (or types of) are you referring to? Thanks

Also I did notice a few other important points. #1) You took classes at a university and still felt behind. That really answers my question. Pre-req classes are introductory no matter where you go. #2) You state that the non-major is a bigger factor. Yet as bones indicated earlier learning skills and strengths can be a significant factor in your success, i.e your major isn't the whole story. I guess my question becomes are the classes at PT school inclusive(or are you asked to draw upon your background)? I would assume they are inclusive since any major can apply but that if you had to draw upon your background at all it would on be for the initial PT foundational courses.

(Please excuse my typos, I wrote this on my phone)

Well, I guess I sort of stated that wrong- obviously I need to do well in my classes but I actually had a conversation with one of my profs (it was an assignment in which I discussed feeling behind vocabulary wise bc of my background and basically she told me that it was the shool's job to take us from student to entry level PT and if they didn't accomplish that then they werent doing their job.)


I got As in all my classes so obviously I'm on par with where I should be, it's just my level of comfort with the material is low bc it's te first time I'm being exposed to it versus someone with a related degree; they've at least used plantarflexion or abduction before and I found at te beginning I really had to think about what was flexion as what was extension. I'd say I picked up on the information fine, I just personally felt behind bc all of this is very new to me. So that brings me back to my last point just because this is all new to me doesn'tean I shouldn't be able to succeed so f my program cannot brig me up to par with my classmates who have previous experience in these topics (more than just one course for a prerequisite) then the program is not doing what it should be. So yes, do I still feel uncomfortable wth some of the basic skills I was taught this semester? Absolutely, but do I have a good learning style/am I good "learner"? Absolutely, my background is in education so I know a lot about teaching and a lot about learning. Also, I should add that it's very potentially just me and my personality as I have a lot of anxiety and had a very rough time transitioning from the real world back into school so my insecurities are probably just me being me as none of my other classmates have vocalized feeling unprepared or "behind" due to their unrelated degrees. 🙂