Clinical Education Defined

The SU PT Clinical Education Curriculum 

Shenandoah University’s Physical Therapy Clinical Education program includes three part-time (1 day a week) Integrated Clinical Experiences (ICE) woven throughout the first and second year.  The ICE are located within 90 miles from the student’s primary campus. The three full-time Clinical Internships (CI) are offered nationally and the final two (CI) have international options.

Integrated clinical experiences (ICE):

• The primary goal of the ICE is to allow the student hands-on opportunities with patients/clients concurrently during their didactic course work 
• Each ICE consists of 1 day/week for 10 weeks and occur in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters of the program
• Under the direction of a licensed physical therapist, the ICE develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the student that has been acquired to date in the classroom, labs, and clinic, for application in the clinical environment
• The ICE are varied between ambulatory and non-ambulatory settings
• At the end of an ICE, students have approximately 240 hours of supervised clinical care

Full-time clinical internship experiences (CI):

• There are three full-time clinical internships:one 8 week and two 12 weeks
• The first full-time clinical experience allows the student to apply and demonstrate problem solving skills in the clinical environment to the level of an advanced-intermediate clinician and occurs in the summer after the 4th semester
• The emphasis of the the final two full-time learning experiences is for entry-level practice in that setting, after all academic coursework is complete
• The student will demonstrate competence in clinical skills, communication, professional behaviors and interactions, and evidence based practice
• The full-time clinical experiences are varied between ambulatory and non-ambulatory settings
• Students have the opportunity to apply to specialized clinics in the areas of pediatrics, orthopedics, neurology, women’s health, sports medicine, burns, hand therapy, and military
• At the end of CI, students have approximately 1280 hours of supervised clinical care