Department Mission and Vision

The mission of the Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science is to prepare undergraduate students to enter careers in the health care industry or to enter graduate education in health related fields, and to prepare graduate students as general practitioners in Physical Therapy.

Vision: The Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science will strive to build a balanced environment of teaching, research, service and practice, which will prepare students to live and work productively in a diverse and ever-changing society.

Bradley University is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. At Bradley, students, faculty, and staff unite to create a dynamic academic community of the highest quality. The mission of the College of Education and Health Sciences is to prepare professionals who are uniquely qualified for the useful and productive service that promotes the intelligent use of human resources and fosters individual development over the life span. The mission of the Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science includes preparing general practitioner physical therapist professionals, who are qualified to meet the challenges in health care, which affect the quality of care.

The goals of the Department are to provide students with relevant and appropriate learning experiences, which are guided and facilitated by high quality instruction. The Department's faculty are committed to preparing: (1) undergraduate students to meet the challenges inherent to the health care industry, and (2) graduate students to serve as physical therapist general practitioners.

We promote lifelong learning through providing examples to the students of areas of study in which we can provide a beginning knowledge base. Through the research course, the need for research in adding to our knowledge base in physical therapy is formally addressed. In other courses the lifelong learning idea tends to be within the routine of discussing many of the topics, and is expressed both directly and indirectly. Also, the faculty serve as models of persons who continue adding knowledge and skills through life.

Philosophy

Inherent to the Department's philosophy is student engagement. The students' personal and professional development are supported and encouraged by a core faculty who foster an environment for individual attention. This is provided by numerous one-on-one and small group faculty-student interactions and multidisciplinary and collaborative activities, all of which help cultivate a student-centered learning environment.

The students are given a foundation in knowledge and skills necessary to collaborate and communicate with others. In addition, they are involved in an integrated curriculum, with interdisciplinary, diverse, and collaborative activities. These processes assist the students in developing the skills needed to be independent general practitioners.

Graduates of the physical therapy curriculum are provided with the foundation to make decision and implement programs to improve the health and wellness of the clients they serve.

Objectives

The objectives of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program are as follows: to develop a graduate general practitioner who will

1. Provide safe and effective patient care.
2. Be effective in oral and written communications, social orientation, etc.
3. Effectively utilize the basic knowledge of people -- their characteristics, behavior, social orientation, etc. -- when evaluating and treating; when designing home programs; and when consulting.
4. Develop teaching abilities.
5. Know basic concepts of administration, education, consultation, and research.
6. Work together with other health care professionals and staff and refer and delegate work appropriately.
7. Synthesize administrative methods to provide valued, efficient health care.
8. Integrate research principles and findings to improve the quality of health care.
9. Further develop skills and knowledge through formal and informal educational processes.
10. Understand the value of participating in both the professional community and the residence community.

These objectives have been incorporated into the curriculum, with the combination of the academic courses and clinical courses. We believe that learning occurs in a hierarchical manner with important input gained from many different experiences and methods.