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I would like some input from practicing PTs or not so recent graduates those with some perspective from the field since completing their education.
I am currently narrowing down my choices and one of the confusing factors is the huge difference in curriculum structure and philosophy. One school has PBL (see below) another teaches in Units (see below) and another boasts of the immense influence of its research capacities (below) and large number of PhD students and special funds on its curriculum Of course there are 5 more schools that have regular curriculum structures as well...
I dont know what to make of all this. Is this just a school doing its best to differentiate itself from the crowd or are their real implications here?
Furthermore, some programs are a full 3 years others are 2.5 years. I currently have friends in both types of programs. The person in the 2.5 year program (units) is in class 9-5 every day and is under such immense pressure he cant articulate it without turning red. A friend in a 3 year program (with a regular curriculum) has a big more time during the week to breathe but is taking 19 credits and is so overloaded with studying what they arent covering in lecture shes out of her mind as well.
Some schools are tightly coupled with a med school, others are stand alone... Impact?
Looking forward to some comments!
Problem Based Learning (PBL) : Tutors present cases to small groups of students. Students identify what they know, and what they do not know about the case. Following this review, students create learning issues that guide their study and tutorial discussions. Students disperse and seek out information needed to fulfill their learning issues. At the next tutorial session, students share and discuss their information. At the end of a tutorial session, students identify new learning issues, ones that have been refined by their previous study and discussion. This process is repeated until the case is completed. Faculty tutors ensure that students include all necessary learning issues and information, and ensure that accurate information is shared.
It then goes on to say:
PBL students level of detail may not be as in-depth as traditional students; however, PBL students demonstrate practical insight, knowing where to find information, listening closely, and appreciating principles and learning processes.
Units: The curriculum is organized into 23 patient-based units that integrate knowledge from every practice area of physical therapy. Content ranges from the young child to the older adult, from fractures to traumatic brain injury. Critical thinking and the use of evidence for making clinical decisions is emphasized throughout the curriculum. Relevant literature is considered in each unit with the goal being graduates who use current evidence in their practice of physical therapy. Students also write case reports based on patients they have treated in each of their clinical affiliations.
Research-y focus Among the faculty are many Board Certified Clinical Specialists who provide outstanding didactic and clinical instruction to students throughout the curriculum and supervise students in clinical research and preparation of case reports for publication. The PhD level faculty perform research in state-of-the-art laboratories and have received major research funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the Whittaker Foundation and the Department of the Army. Faculty research has included the assessment of innovative treatment techniques for persons with sports injuries in conjunction with the Physical Therapy Clinic to investigations into how the nervous system controls movement and behavior. Students often participate in the research projects and have the opportunity to participate in a formal research projects.
I am currently narrowing down my choices and one of the confusing factors is the huge difference in curriculum structure and philosophy. One school has PBL (see below) another teaches in Units (see below) and another boasts of the immense influence of its research capacities (below) and large number of PhD students and special funds on its curriculum Of course there are 5 more schools that have regular curriculum structures as well...
I dont know what to make of all this. Is this just a school doing its best to differentiate itself from the crowd or are their real implications here?
Furthermore, some programs are a full 3 years others are 2.5 years. I currently have friends in both types of programs. The person in the 2.5 year program (units) is in class 9-5 every day and is under such immense pressure he cant articulate it without turning red. A friend in a 3 year program (with a regular curriculum) has a big more time during the week to breathe but is taking 19 credits and is so overloaded with studying what they arent covering in lecture shes out of her mind as well.
Some schools are tightly coupled with a med school, others are stand alone... Impact?
Looking forward to some comments!
Problem Based Learning (PBL) : Tutors present cases to small groups of students. Students identify what they know, and what they do not know about the case. Following this review, students create learning issues that guide their study and tutorial discussions. Students disperse and seek out information needed to fulfill their learning issues. At the next tutorial session, students share and discuss their information. At the end of a tutorial session, students identify new learning issues, ones that have been refined by their previous study and discussion. This process is repeated until the case is completed. Faculty tutors ensure that students include all necessary learning issues and information, and ensure that accurate information is shared.
It then goes on to say:
PBL students level of detail may not be as in-depth as traditional students; however, PBL students demonstrate practical insight, knowing where to find information, listening closely, and appreciating principles and learning processes.
Units: The curriculum is organized into 23 patient-based units that integrate knowledge from every practice area of physical therapy. Content ranges from the young child to the older adult, from fractures to traumatic brain injury. Critical thinking and the use of evidence for making clinical decisions is emphasized throughout the curriculum. Relevant literature is considered in each unit with the goal being graduates who use current evidence in their practice of physical therapy. Students also write case reports based on patients they have treated in each of their clinical affiliations.
Research-y focus Among the faculty are many Board Certified Clinical Specialists who provide outstanding didactic and clinical instruction to students throughout the curriculum and supervise students in clinical research and preparation of case reports for publication. The PhD level faculty perform research in state-of-the-art laboratories and have received major research funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the Whittaker Foundation and the Department of the Army. Faculty research has included the assessment of innovative treatment techniques for persons with sports injuries in conjunction with the Physical Therapy Clinic to investigations into how the nervous system controls movement and behavior. Students often participate in the research projects and have the opportunity to participate in a formal research projects.
