Physical Therapist Assistant Program - Specific Policies

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) of the American Physical Therapy Association at the following ECPI campuses: Newport News and Richmond/ Emerywood, Virginia. This is a programmatic accreditation by CAPTE, a specialized accreditation agency for qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. For more information, visit www.capteonline.org.

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
American Physical Therapy Association
3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100
Alexandria, VA 22305-3085
Telephone 703.706.3245

*Notice to students and prospective students in the Physical Therapist Assistant program at the Orlando (Lake Mary) campus:  Effective July 13, 2021, the Physical Therapist Assistant program at ECPI University’s Lake Mary, Florida campus has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706- 3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 407-562-9100 or email PTADirector@ecpi.edu. 

Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation. 

Admissions. The selective admission process is based on the following: high school GPA, College GPA or GED scores, admission assessment exam scores, college Anatomy & Physiology, Physics and/or Chemistry GPA, college credits/degree, Physical Therapy hours, and professional references. Students must meet minimum application thresholds to be considered a qualified applicant.

• A high school or college GPA of 2.5, or GED
• Successful completion of the reading, math, science, and English assessment exam

Additional consideration will be given for prior college coursework, professional references, and Physical Therapy volunteer/technician hours.

Qualified applicants, who rank highest on the admissions criteria and successfully complete an interview with the PTA Program Director and/or Director of Clinical Education, are considered for admission to the program. A Review Committee makes the final decision for acceptance into the PTA program.

Attendance. A detailed record of student’s attendance is maintained by the instructors and becomes a part of their permanent records. Every absence from class, no matter what the reason, is recorded and counted as such by the instructor, beginning with the first day of class. It is sometimes necessary for the school to give employment recommendations for a student. The employer often takes attendance into consideration.

Students are required to attend class regularly and on time. Therefore, missing scheduled classes is unacceptable. If an absence or tardiness is unavoidable, a student must notify the school prior to the start of the scheduled class and in addition, if the course is a clinical education one, scheduled at a clinical affiliated site, the student must also notify the site prior to the scheduled time. All missed clinical time must be made up.

Students with course absences greater than 15 percent of any course may have their records reviewed for the purposes of possible probation, termination, or suspension. A student may be dropped from a course if the student is absent more than 20 percent of the scheduled course hours. Arrangements with the Clinical Instructor and the student, to reschedule any missed clinical time, must be made as soon as possible, to avoid any of the above mentioned situations.

Clinical Education. The purpose of the clinical affiliation is to provide physical therapist assistant students the appropriate sequence of learning opportunities needed to:

• develop and extend their knowledge, skills, and attitudes in direct patient care
• improve communications and interpersonal relationships
• understand the delivery system in a clinical facility in a manner consistent with ethical and legal practices of physical therapy

PTA students are assigned to clinical affiliation sites for educational experiences only when they have met the minimum grade requirements of all prerequisite courses of the specific clinical internship course. The Director of Clinical Education selects the affiliation sites for the educational experiences of PTA students. Selection is based on site availability and educational goals. Physical therapist assistant students are required to satisfactorily complete a total of 540 clinical affiliation hours in order to meet the requirements of the PTA program. Each PTA student will have clinical experiences which can include acute care, long-term care, outpatient care, or specialty care such as pediatrics or inpatient rehabilitation. Students are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from the affiliation sites.

Physical therapist assistant students are expected to pursue increasing levels of responsibility as theoretical and technical abilities increase throughout their clinical experiences. Likewise, students are only expected to perform clinical duties they have addressed in their coursework, feel competent in completing safely and that are approved by the American Physical Therapy Association and state practice guidelines.

Clinical Phase Absenteeism and Tardiness. Absenteeism on clinical days will not be tolerated. A student is expected to arrive at clinical prepared to administer patient care. If a student is unable to perform required duties due to health or other reasons, the student should not attend clinical. If for any reason the student cannot attend the clinical, the student must contact the Clinical Instructor and Director of Clinical Education no later than one hour before the scheduled start time.

Emergency messages will be conveyed from the school to the clinical area. At no time should family or friends call the healthcare facility where the student is assigned. If more than two clinical days are missed, the student must contact the PTA Program Director or Director of Clinical Education.

Program Philosophy. The program for physical therapist assistants is built on a foundation of academic coursework and technical education. Program faculty and staff are strongly committed to providing all students with an exciting, stimulating, and comprehensive learning experience. The program prepares a graduate to provide safe, effective, ethical, and legal care to persons of all ages and diverse backgrounds. The program develops the ability of the student to think independently, to understand fundamental theory, and to develop the skills necessary to become clinical practitioners who are enlightened decision makers.

Program Purpose. The physical therapy profession is involved in rehabilitation, prevention, health maintenance, and programs that promote health, wellness, and fitness. Physical therapist assistants are essential participants in the healthcare delivery system. The physical therapist assistant functions within the model of patient care through examination, evaluation, and treatment by providing physical therapy interventions and data collection. The physical therapist assistant will progress the rehabilitation process of a patient within the plan of care established by the supervising physical therapist. The physical therapist assistant education is a comprehensive program providing the correct mix of technical training and general education to ensure graduates are able to function effectively as highly skilled professionals within the healthcare system. A variety of instructional methods are utilized in program courses to support the learning style of each student, yet challenge the student to recognize and develop alternative learning styles.

Program Hours. Students are required to attend classes Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. During the clinical education experience the student will be assigned to an off-site facility and follow the schedule as determined by the clinical instructor.

Student Evaluation. The faculty shall use the objectives of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program as criteria for student evaluation. The student‘s grades are determined by a combination of written examinations, laboratory practicals, and clinical competency checklists.

Physical Therapist Assistant technical skills and ability, attitude, and relationship with others are areas of clinical and laboratory evaluation. The achievement of the student in both theory and clinical performance is evaluated by the faculty at regular intervals and shared with the student. The student progresses to the next term when all prerequisite courses have been satisfactorily completed. Students must achieve a passing grade of B or better in Anatomy and Physiology I and II courses and a grade of C or better in all PTA courses and satisfactorily meet all clinical objectives. A final course grade of less than C or failure to meet clinical objectives, will result in failure of a course.

Written assignments must be submitted on time. Tests and assignments must be made up on the student‘s first classroom day back to school after an absence, unless the student makes alternate arrangements with the instructor.

Student success involves:

1. Faculty interested in teaching and learning
2. Students interested in learning and are accountable for their education
3. Effective feedback to allow the student to correctly monitor his/her progress within the curriculum
4. Professional behaviors are essential to an effective entry-level practitioner. Professional behaviors are learned through sharing and modeling effective practice. Professional behaviors include:

• Commitment to learning
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication
• Effective use of time and resources
• Stress management
• Use of constructive feedback
• Problem solving
• Responsibility
• Critical thinking
• Ethical choices and decisions

Students will interact with all levels of healthcare practitioners. Communication is essential for effective and safe practice within the healthcare system. Communication is emphasized throughout the curriculum in various activities and role modeling in the laboratory.