Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Core Functions and Technical Standards Policy

DPT Core Functions and Technical Standards Policy

I. Policy Purpose and Accreditation Alignment
The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program prepares graduates for entry-level practice consistent with the standards of the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), the American Physical Therapy Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, contemporary physical therapy practice expectations, and state licensure requirements.

The DPT Program established the following Core Functions and Technical Standards related to:
•    Student readiness for clinical education
•    Safety and ethical practice
•    Professional behaviors
•    Clinical reasoning competence
•    Patient management

These standards define the essential affective-behavioral, cognitive, sensory, social, and psychomotor abilities required for program admission, progression, and graduation.

II. Legal and Accommodation Framework
The Program complies with:
•    Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
•    Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADA Amendments Act
•    CAPTE Standards
•    APTA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice

Reasonable accommodations will be provided to qualified students with documented disabilities in collaboration with Wilson College Office of Accessibility Services.

However:
•    Accommodations must not fundamentally alter program requirements.
•    Accommodations must not compromise patient safety.
•    Accommodations must not impose undue hardship on the institution.
•    Clinical education sites may not be able to provide identical accommodations as the College.

Students are responsible for initiating timely accommodation requests.

Failure to meet Core Functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, may result in denial of admission, delay of progression, or dismissal from the Program.

III. Core Functional Domains
1. Professional and Behavioral Competence
(CAPTE Domains: Professional Behaviors, Ethics, Cultural Competence, Safety)

Students must demonstrate professional conduct consistent with the ethical obligations of physical therapy practice.

Students must be able to:
•    Demonstrate accountability, integrity, altruism, and professional responsibility.
•    Adhere to legal and ethical standards of practice.
•    Respect diversity across age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, socioeconomic status, religion, culture, and lived experience.
•    Establish and maintain mature, sensitive, and effective professional relationships.
•    Accept and integrate constructive feedback.
•    Demonstrate self-reflection and adaptive learning.
•    Recognize personal limitations and seek assistance appropriately.
•    Function effectively under physical, emotional, and cognitive stress.
•    Contribute productively to interprofessional healthcare teams.
•    Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

2. Cognitive and Clinical Reasoning Competence
(CAPTE Domains: Clinical Reasoning, Patient Management, Evidence-Based Practice)
Students must possess sufficient intellectual capacity to safely and effectively engage in patient management.

Students must be able to:
•    Comprehend, integrate, and synthesize information from biological, physical, behavioral, and social sciences.
•    Perform data collection during patient examinations.
•    Analyze examination findings.
•    Develop differential diagnoses within the scope of physical therapy practice.
•    Formulate prognoses and plans of care.
•    Recognize contraindications and red flags.
•    Modify interventions based on patient response.
•    Apply quantitative reasoning and outcome measurement principles.
•    Integrate current evidence into clinical decision-making.
•    Prioritize and manage multiple clinical tasks simultaneously.
•    Reflect on performance and implement corrective strategies.

3. Communication Competence
(CAPTE Domains: Communication, Documentation, Interprofessional Practice)
Students must demonstrate effective verbal, written, and nonverbal communication.

Students must be able to:
•    Establish therapeutic rapport with patients and caregivers.
•    Elicit comprehensive patient histories.
•    Communicate clinical findings and plans of care clearly and accurately.
•    Document patient care in written and electronic formats that meet professional and legal standards.
•    Interpret and respond to verbal and nonverbal communication.
•    Communicate effectively during emergency situations.
•    Participate constructively in academic discourse and interprofessional collaboration.
•    Provide patient and caregiver education using developmentally and culturally appropriate methods.

4. Sensory and Observational Competence
(CAPTE Domains: Examination, Safety Monitoring)
Students must possess sufficient sensory capacity to perform examination and intervention procedures.

This includes functional use of:

Vision
•    Monitor environmental safety conditions.
•    Observe patient posture, movement patterns, skin integrity, and physiological responses.
•    Read and interpret medical records, diagnostic imaging, and equipment displays.

Hearing
•    Actively listen to maintain conversation.
•    Auscultate heart, lung, and vascular sounds.
•    Detect environmental alarms and verbal cues in settings with ambient noise.

Tactile Sensation
•    Apply graded manual therapy techniques safely.
•    Detect tissue texture, tone, and resistance.
•    Manipulate examination and therapeutic equipment.
•    Palpate anatomical structures.

5. Psychomotor and Physical Capacity
(CAPTE Domains: Intervention, Safety, Clinical Performance)
Students must demonstrate gross and fine motor skills required for safe patient management.

Students must be able to:
•    Lift up to 50 pounds independently.
•    Lift or transfer up to 200 pounds with assistance.
•    Push and pull up to 200 pounds with assistance.
•    Guard and transfer patients safely.
•    Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
•    Sustain clinical activity for 8-12 hour periods with appropriate rest breaks.
•    Assume and maintain varied positions including standing, kneeling, squatting, bending, and reaching.
•    Demonstrate bilateral coordination and fine motor control.
•    Travel to assigned clinical education sites.

6. Health, Safety, and Risk Management Responsibility
(CAPTE Domains: Safety, Clinical Readiness)

Students must:
•    Maintain physical and emotional health sufficient for safe patient care.
•    Recognize and respond appropriately to medical emergencies.
•    Identify environmental hazards.
•    Avoid behaviors that compromise patient, peer, or faculty safety.
•    Maintain personal hygiene and professional appearance consistent with clinical standards.

IV. Clinical Education Considerations
Clinical education sites are independent entities with their own operational requirements. The Program will collaborate to support students requiring accommodations. However, clinical sites may be unable to provide certain accommodations due to patient safety or operational limitations.

Students must meet Core Functions to participate in clinical education experiences.

V. Student Attestation
All admitted students must review, acknowledge, and affirm their ability to meet the Core Functions and Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodation.