Physical Therapy
About Our Program
Accreditation Status
The Program in Physical Therapy (DPT) at UTHSC is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22341; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: www.capteonline.org. The Program received initial accreditation by CAPTE in 1966 and has been continuously accredited since that time. The department also offers the Transitional DPT, or the post-professional MSPT and ScDPT degrees. CAPTE does not accredit post-professional programs.
Student Outcomes
- Graduation Rates: Our department has achieved an average graduation rate of 97% for the last three graduating classes (2010, 2011, 2012).
- Licensure examination pass rates: UTHSC DPT graduates have achieved a 100%, 100% and 98.3% pass rate on the National Physical Therapist Examination for the last three years (2009, 2010, 2011).
- Employment rate: 100% of graduates, for the classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011, were employed as PTs within six months of passing the licensure exam.
Complaints
Individuals who wish to lodge a complaint about the program, students or faculty may contact the Chairman, Dr. Carol Counts Likens, the Dean, Dr. Noma Anderson, or the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education.
The Profession
Physical therapy is a unique and vital health profession concerned with health promotion, prevention of physical disabilities and the habilitation/rehabilitation of person disabled by pain, disease, or injury. Physical therapy is defined as the assessment, evaluation, treatment and prevention of physical disability, pain and movement dysfunction resulting from injury, disease, disability, or other health related conditions.
Physical Therapy includes
- The performance and interpretation of tests and measurements to assess pathophysiological, pathomechanical, electrophysiological, ergonomic, and developmental deficits of bodily systems to determine diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and prevention.
- The planning, administration, and modification of therapeutic interventions that focus on posture, locomotion, strength, endurance, cardiopulmonary function, balance, coordination, joint mobility, flexibility, pain, healing and repair, and functional abilities in daily living skills, including work.
- The provision of consultative, educational, research and other advisory services.
Licensure and Certification
Physical therapists must pass a national licensure examination in order to practice in the United States. Graduation from an accredited physical therapy curriculum is the first step in becoming licensed.
Contact:
Carol Counts Likens, P.T., Ph.D., MBA
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Physical Therapy
The University of Tennessee
Health Science Center
930 Madison – Suite 647
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.5888
clikens@uthsc.edu
