The School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science

Clinical Education Program Curriculum

The School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science

University of Montana

First Year

Fall:PT 503 – Clinical Education Program Orientation (classroom lectures).

Spring:PT 582 – 24 hours ofintegrated clinical experience plus 7 hours of classroom interaction. The collaborative 2:1 learning mode is primarily utilized where students are paired with one clinical instructor. Student assignments are made throughout the semester and may also occur during the winter break. Classroom content includes internship planning, clinical reasoning and problem solving, use of assessment and feedback tools and writing a case report.

Summer:PT 587 – 320 hours in a full-time, 8-week experience. The student may be placed either in the first halfor second half of summer session, typically in an outpatient, acute care, SNF or in a setting, typically rural, where the experience is a mix of practice settings.

Second Year

Spring:PT 583 (ortho emphasis) or PT584(neuro emphasis)80 hours in anintegrated clinical experience utilizing a 2:1 collaborative model. Students will be assigned a clinical schedule consisting of 5 hours per week; and will work with either an orthopedic-focused or neurologic-focused CI and complete their experience in the UMPT Clinic.

Summer:PT 589 – 320 hours of full-time 8-week experience. The student may be placed either in the first half or second half of summer session. Students will be placed in a setting that is different (in-patient vs out-patient) from their PT 587 placement.

Third Year

Fall:PT 583 or PT584 – 80 hours in a part-time integrated clinical experienceutilizing a 2:1 collaborative model. Students will be assigned a clinical schedule consisting of 5 hours per week; and will work with either an orthopedic-focused or neurologic-focused CI (opposite of previous assignment in spring, 2nd year);and complete their experience in the UMPT Clinic.

Spring:PT 680 - 600 hours of full-time 15-week internship done typically at one organization inone practice setting;typically starts the second Monday in January. The experience should match the student’s vision for their entry into professional practice.Application and interview may be required. Customized learning opportunities might be available dependent on the student’s needs and interests and availability and interests of potential clinical sites. Students are required to complete a special project or case study assignment. Students are given permission to attend APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) as part of their internship (with approval of their CI).