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is structured to provide laboratory experiences that supplement the didactic material presented in GDPT 815 and GDPT 818. Incorporated in the course are activities to develop skills of teamwork and education of peers. GDPT 814 Research Applications: Evidence-Based Practice I 2 credits The purpose of the Research Applications: Evidence-Based Practice course series is to first teach students how to judiciously search and analyze professional literature to answer clinical questions with an emphasis of how evidence can be incorporated into daily decisions about the care of individual patients and populations. Through a group process, students will complete a research project including: project and Institutional Review Board proposals, data collection, defense of project, and presentation in a public forum. The Research Applications: Evidence-Based Practice I teaches students how to develop answerable, searchable clinical questions utilizing the PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison Outcome) model that supports application of evidence-based practice in clinical decision-making. It begins with development of skills to locate potentially useful information that will provide evidence to answer a clinical or research question by searching the literature through strategies that access both print and electronic media. Students will study the nuts and bolts of research terms, concepts, designs and the most frequently used statistics in physical therapy. Different electronic databases will be identified and utilized. Using the Quality Appraisal (QA) format students will learn critical review and evaluate articles on diagnostic testing, prognosis, treatment efficacy and effectiveness, and systematic review with and without meta-analysis.
GDPT 815 Basic Physical Therapy Practice and Interventions 2 credits The essential concepts of the physical therapy patient/client management model are introduced, set within the context of the Guide to Physical Therapy Practice, and the disablement model. The five elements of patient/client management are defined with an emphasis on data that may be generated from a patient/client history. Documentation in the patient/client record is introduced. There is an emphasis on health promotion, wellness, prevention of disease/disability, and nutritional considerations. Students will learn the basic principles of exercise testing, assessment of normal and abnormal vital signs, and exercise responses. Application of fundamental physical therapy interventions are initiated including exercise prescription, standard precautions, patient/client transfers, gait training with assistive devices, and functional mobility screening. Introduction to medical screening and review of body systems will prepare the students in examination and evaluation for patients with musculoskeletal dysfunction.
GDPT 816 Community Health Initiatives I 1 credit The purpose of this course sequence is for students to understand their expanding and potential professional role in the community; and to develop skills and application of educational activities, health promotion, prevention and wellness through experiential community-based learning (service learning). In the first course of this sequence, students will engage in community activities supportive of the Erie community and society. Students will begin to study the scope of local community services agencies that promote improving the health of the community and its constituents. Concepts of health promotion, wellness, and service learning will be introduced. Oral discussion, reflective writing, and student directed readings are used to link social responsibility with professional role in the community. GDPT 817 Pathology 3 credits This course covers an introduction to the variety of pathologies encountered in physical therapy practice. Using a body systems approach students explore structure and function, etiology, clinical presentation, medical management and special implications for physical therapists. Systems covered include: immune, integumentary, endocrine, metabolic, cardiovascular, lymphatic, hematologic, respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, pancreatic, biliary, renal and urologic, reproductive, and nervous systems, with additional units on infectious disease, oncology and biopsychosocial diseases and dysfunctions. Musculoskeletal pathologies are included in the musculoskeletal system course in the following semester. GDPT 818 Foundations in Human Movement GDPT 819 Foundations in Human Movement Lab 6 credits This course is an in-depth analysis of normal and pathological human motion that provides a framework for much of the basic and applied foundation and clinical content areas of the physical therapy curriculum. A major emphasis is placed on normal anatomical structure and function. Incorporated within the course is a study of the pathological mechanisms affecting human movements. Basic theories of biomechanics and kinesiology are presented, along with application of these principles to biologic tissues, providing students with the necessary principles to analyze the forces generated by muscles and the forces applied to joints during gait and other activities. Fundamental patient evaluation procedures of palpation, joint motion, strength assessment, gait, posture assessment movement/task analysis, and sensory and reflex testing are also presented. Laboratory experiences are designed to enhance, integrate and apply lecture concepts.