DPT Technical Standards

Technical Standards/Essential Functions

There are technical standards and essential functions necessary for a student to participate in the Physical Therapy Program at Stockton University It is necessary to meet these standards and functions with or without reasonable accommodation (s). Stockton University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Any student who seeks accommodations should make their request by contacting Stockton’s Learning Access Program. Having these skills and functions does not guarantee successful completion of the Program.

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Observational skills (includes functional use of vision, hearing and somatic sensations):

The student must be able to:

• Observe lecture and laboratory demonstrations.
• Obtain visual information from clients.
• Obtain visual information from treatment equipment and environment.
• Effective auscultation/auditory evaluation such as lungs, heart, apical pulse, blood pressure, joint noises, prostheses.

Communication skills

The student must be able to:

• Effectively communicate with other students, faculty, patients, peers/other health care professionals, staff and families. Communication shall require the student to ask questions, explain conditions and procedures, teach home programs, and to maintain safety.
• Receive, write, and interpret written communication in both academic and clinical settings.
• Receive, send and interpret verbal communication in emergency situations.
• Demonstrate interpersonal skills as needed for productive classroom discussion, respectful interaction with classmates and faculty, and development of appropriate therapist-patient relationships.
• Utilize appropriate verbal, nonverbal, and written communication with patients, families and others.

Motor skills

The student must be able to:

• Attend class approximately 35+ hours per week, which includes lecture, laboratory, and integrated clinical experience.
• Sit and maintain upright posture for approximately 2-6 hours in an average academic day.
• Stand and maintain upright posture for approximately 1-3 hours in an average academic day.
• Walk or travel approximately two hours in an average academic day.
• Get to lecture, lab and clinical locations in a timely manner.
• Move within rooms as needed for changing groups, lab partners and work stations.
• Perform assigned clinical tasks and in a timely manner
• Safely maneuver self or move another individual’s body parts.
• Safely move another individual’s body in transfers, gait, positioning, and mobilization techniques.
• Safely maneuver or move clinical equipment in all directions.
• Safely and effectively guide, facilitate, inhibit, and resist movement and motor patterns.
• Manipulate common tools used for screening tests of nerves, joints, and muscles which would include sensation, range of motion, and muscle testing procedures.
• Perform CPR using guidelines by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.
• Legibly record/document evaluations, and progress notes in medical charts.
• Legibly record thoughts for written assignments and tests.
• Palpate changes in an individual’s muscle tone, soft tissues, skin quality, joint play, kinesthesia, and temperature, and sense the individual’s response to environmental changes and treatment.
• Apply and adjust therapeutic modalities.
• Apply and position hands to apply soft tissue and mobilization/manipulation techniques.

Over the length of the curriculum, students may be required to perform the motor skills below at different frequencies. Specialized clinical experiences may require some skills more or less often than indicated. Students must be able to perform these skills with or without reasonable accommodations.

 

Intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities:

The student must be able to:

• Apply critical thinking processes to their work in the classroom and the clinic.
• Gather decision-making pieces of information during patient assessment activities in class or in the clinical setting without the use of an intermediary such as a classmate, a physical therapist assistant, or an aide.
• Retain and use information in order to solve problems, evaluate patients, and generate new ways of processing or categorizing symptoms.
• Perform a physical therapy examination and evaluation of a patient’s posture and movement.
• Analyze physical, biomechanical, pathological, behavioral, and environmental factors in a timely manner.
• Determine an appropriate diagnosis and prognosis based upon the results of a patient evaluation.
• Use information to formulate and execute an appropriate intervention in a timely, safe, and effective manner appropriate for the problems identified.
• Reassess the treatment plan as needed for effective and efficient management of physical therapy problems in a timely manner.
• Apply teaching/learning theories and methods in health care and community environments.
• Participate in the process of scientific inquiry.
• Recognize the psychosocial impact of dysfunction and disability and integrate the needs of the patient and family into the plan of care.

Behavioral and Social Attributes:

The student must be able to:

• Demonstrate appropriate behaviors and attitudes in order not to jeopardize the emotional, physical, mental, and safety of patients and other individuals in the academic and clinical settings.
• Comply with the ethical standards of the American Physical Therapy Association.
• Cope with the mental and emotional rigors of a demanding educational program within the set time constraints, which includes both the academic and clinical aspects.
• Acknowledge and respect individual values and opinions in order to foster harmonious working relationships with colleagues, peers, and patients.
• Judge and value professionalism in physical therapy.
• Incorporate the roles of a physical therapist.
• Support society and the health care system.
• Perform treatment procedures in a manner that is appropriate to the patient’s status and desired goals.
• Perform self-evaluation and self-learning skills.
• Maintain general good health, self-care, and hygiene in order not to jeopardize the health and safety of self and individuals with which one interacts.
• Arrange transportation and living accommodations for/during off campus clinical assignments and classes.
• Recognize and respond appropriately to individuals of all race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, or nationality, socioeconomic, and cultural background.

Curriculum requirements:

The student must be able to:

• Meet class standards for course completion throughout the curriculum including lecture, laboratory and clinical requirements.

Clinical assessments:

The student must be able to:

• Participate and evaluate the participation of clinical experiences.
• Demonstrate clinical competence in a variety of settings including acute, outpatient, and neurological settings.

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References for Technical Standards and Essential Functions

1. Pacific University School of Physical Therapy. The ADA: Physical Therapy Education, Admission, and Reasonable Accommodation.
2. Technical Standards Essential Functions. Examples from Physical Therapist/Physical Therapist Assistant Educational Programs. AASIG Section on Education September 1998. PT Programs: Medical College of Georgia, Samual Merritt College, University of Colorado, University of Kentucky, University of Miami, University of Scranton, University of Tennessee, Memphis, University of Wisconsi-LaCrosse, Texas Woman’s University, University of Indianapolis, University of Minnesota, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Wisconsin-Madison. PTA Programs: Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College, Northern Virginia Community College, Walters State Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Chattanooga State Community College, St. Petersburg Junior College
3. UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions (now Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey). Essential/Technical Standards for Enrollment in Courses.