Mission and Goals
The mission of the Marymount University Doctor of Physical Therapy program is to prepare generalist practitioners to deliver best available physical therapist practice for improving movement, function and health across diverse individuals and communities. The program employs a dynamic learning-in-context environment that is warm and welcoming. Critical thinking, professionalism, respecting individual differences, and adherence to ethical practices ground all classroom, clinic, and community activities.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program’s overarching goals are to:
- Graduate scholarly practitioners who have sound clinical decision-making skills and are well prepared for general practice;
- Nuture self-responsibility, active learning, intellectual curiosity, and self-efficacy in lifelong learning;
- Prepare students for the various professional roles of the physical therapist practitioner (e.g., clinician, manager, educator, advocate, researcher, and consultant); and
- Produce well-informed ethical decision makers who embrace cultural diversity, and aspire toward service to others and contributions to broader social welfare.
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Function independently, managing patients with a wide variety of simple or complex conditions;
- Perform skilled physical therapist examinations, interventions, and clinical reasoning proficiently and consistently;
- Apply best available scientific evidence, clinical judgment, and patient preferences in physical therapist management;
- Manage a full-time physical therapist’s caseload to achieve resource-efficient and patient-effective outcomes;
- Exhibit care, compassion, and empathy in delivering physical therapy services sensitive to individual, cultural, and social differences; and
- Implement a self-directed plan for professional development and lifelong learning.
Student Outcomes
These outcomes represent the most recent three-year period (2009-2011) for which final data is available. The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) expects all accredited physical therapy programs to post their student outcomes on their website:
- The ultimate pass rate of Marymount DPT graduates on the national PT licensure exam is 100%.
- The percent of entering DPT students who ultimately graduate with the DPT degree is 82.5%
- The employment rate for Marymount DPT graduates is 100% within six months of passing the licensure exam (for all graduates seeking employment).