Students in the physical therapy curriculum are required to successfully complete courses in clinical practice, clinical externship and clinical internship. These include part time and full time clinical experiences in a variety of clinical settings at affiliation sites across the United States.
Objectives of Clinical Education
The clinical education experiences are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to enter the profession in a variety of clinical settings. An effort is made to provide a wide range of clinical sites from which assignments are made.
Clinical Practice I (60 hours) is the first formal clinical assignment and is designed as a part-time clinical experience which is offered during the fall semester of the first year. The major emphasis of the course is to initiate the interactive learning process with the clinician in an educationally oriented clinical setting. The course involves part-time clinical experience in various local physical therapy settings. These experiences are structured to provide the student with insight into the practice of physical therapy through patient contact and closely supervised administration of physical therapy techniques. In addition, the course serves as an introduction to the clinical education process in that the expectations of clinical education, the legal ramifications, the evaluation tool and other aspects of clinical education, are discussed in preparation for subsequent clinical experience.
Clinical Practice II (60 hours) is designed to continue the clinical experience begun in Clinical Practice I and increase the scope of activity commensurate with additional courses completed in the fall semester of the first year and the concurrent courses taken in the spring of the first year. The Blue MACS (Mastery and Assessment of Clinical Skills) is the student clinical assessment tool used during the clinical education phase of physical therapy education at LSUHSC. It is a document which was developed by clinical and academic physical therapy faculty in Texas in 1977. It is continually reviewed and revised. Emphasis is on the development of professional behavior, communication and basic evaluation skills along with treatment techniques. This course includes a seminar component for discussion of issues experienced in the clinical setting to enhance both the personal and professional development processes in life long learning.
Clinical Externship (400 hours) is the first full time clinical experience that is offered during the summer semester of the second year. This ten week clinical experience is designed to develop competencies in planning and implementing comprehensive patient care programs; safe and effective physical therapy practice; coordination of patient care activities with other professionals; and professional growth. The student has only completed a portion of the didactic course work and will need to have a primary orthopedic experience. This may include acute care, outpatient areas, or special populations (pediatrics). This practicum is designed to provide clinical reinforcement of the material presented during the first year of study. The Blue MACS is used for self-assessment and for assessment by the clinical instructor.
Clinical Practice III (60 hours) is designed as a part-time clinical experience which is offered during the fall semester of the second year to continue the clinical direct patient care experience with emphasis on developing treatment skills in the course material presented in the semester. This includes cardiopulmonary disorders, principles of motor control, geriatrics, burns, wound care, and electrophysiology. The Blue MACS is used for self-assessment and for assessment by the clinical instructor.
Clinical Internship I (400 hours) is offered at the completion of all academic course work. This ten week clinical experience is designed to allow the student to practice and participate in a full range of patient care activities. The student is expected to expand competencies in planning and implementing comprehensive patient care programs; safe and effective physical therapy practice; coordination of patient care activities with other professionals; and professional growth. The Blue MACS is used for self-assessment and for assessment by the clinical instructor.
Clinical Internship II (400 hours) is the final clinical assignment. This ten week clinical experience is designed to allow the student to practice and participate in a full scope of health care within the practice of physical therapy. The student will broaden his / her range of competencies, while taking increasing responsibility for patient care and for a case load and other departmental activities that approximates the performance of an entry level physical therapist. The Blue MACS is used for self-assessment and for assessment by the clinical instructor.
While every effort is made to ensure that this information is up-to-date and accurate, the statements found on this page are for informational purposes only.
