DIVISION OF PHYSICAL THERAPY
Programs DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY (DPT) HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE CURRICULUM (PHD) RESIDENCIES: ORTHOPEDICS, PEDIATRIC, NEUROLOGIC
A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE The Division of Physical Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill integrates quality education, interdisciplinary research, service, and clinical care to carry out our mission of optimizing human movement and improving the health of people of all ages locally and globally. We are dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in physical therapy and human movement sciences through innovative research and to translating knowledge of our findings to clinical practice, student learning, and to our communities. We put diversity and inclusion into practice by participating in weekly community-based, pro bono clinical service and regional and global outreach. Our educational programs are enriched by our expert faculty, clinical partners, and outsanding resources at a world-class university. Our Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program is top-ranked (#15) according to U.S. News & World Report, and our interdisciplinary PhD in Human Movement Science is ranked among the best in the word.
EXCELLENCE IS MULTI FACETED
• Our division benefits from more than 60 years of strong and visionary leadership, including that of our founder, Margaret Moore, PT, EdD, FAPTA
• Our division is housed at a world-class research university and medical center, including the UNC Health Care System, which serves our state. At University Physical Therapy, our faculty, residents, and students practice together,
• Our facuty and administrators serve as role models by serving in the community, holding offices at the national and state level, and being credentialed clinical specialists, funded researchers, and productive scholars.
STUDENT OUTCOMES We have excellent student outcomes. Our students have averaged a 97.8 percent graduation rate since 2013. One hundred percent of our students ultimately pass the licensure exam and become employed 12 months after passing the licensure exam.
FACULTY RESEARCH From infants to geriatrics, and from Olympic athletes to areas within military, stroke, and Parkinson’s, our faculty are known nationwide for their contributions to research. Our research labs study interactions between the neuromuscular control of human movements and external environments. Our Interdisciplinary Lab aspires to promote improved walking ability and encourage behavioral change so that people feel more comfortable walking in their daily lives. The Cassidy Plasticity Lab focuses on the human movement system across the lifespan. The lab uses structural and functional neuroimaging, electroencephalography, and neurostimulation to investigate neuroplastic change in the brain during motor development, injury, and disease.
DEGREE PROGRAMS
Our Doctor of Physical Therapy program is top-ranked, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) • Signature curriculum: our teaching philosophy creates adaptive, life-long learners. Our program includes a campus-based two-year curriculum and a distance-based third year to foster independent behaviors. • Interprofessional education and practice; students participate in the Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) to serve underserved and underresourced populations • Practice-based learning: We affiliate with approximately 200 clinical education facilities both inside and outside of North Carolina. • Community engagement: Authentic, collaborative, inclusive community partnerships, including SHAC, SHAC’s Beyond Clinic Walls program, service-learning trips to rural North Carolina and Guatemala, and other opportunities including falls prevention health fairs, and Latinx wellness.
Human Movement Science Curriculum (PhD) • Focus on knowledge of human movement, developing theory and methods for maintaining health, preventing disability, and improving movement ability.
FACULTY PRACTICE Faculty, students, and residents practice together at our faculty-led clinic, University Physical Therapy (UPT), which includes five sites. Our faculty average more than 20 years of clinical experience.
OUR LOCATIONS: CHAPEL HILL: SEYMOUR CENTER; AYCOCK FAMILY MEDICINE HILLSBOROUGH: UPT AT OAKDALE DRIVE; ORANGE COUNTY SPORTSPLEX DURHAM: UPT AT MAYFAIR STREET
CLINICAL EDUCATION Clinical education is an integral part of our physical therapy curriculum. Clinical instructors (CIs), Site Coordinators for Clinical Education (SCCE), and clinical education sites provide critical hands-on experiences for students to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom alongside skilled and experienced clinicians.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL DEPARTMENT OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES BONDURANT HALL, CB #7120 CHAPEL HILL, NC 27599-7120
ACCREDITATION AND OUTCOMES The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org Our program benefits from stakeholders including students, clinical instructors, site coordinators, employers, graduate college review, and our alumni advisory board.
LEARN MORE
med.unc.edu/ahs/physical/
In Pursuit of Excellence: Faculty Grants, Honors, and Awards Our faculty bring extensive clinical and research experience into the classroom. They are recognized nationwide as excellent teachers and mentors. They are dedicated to seeing their students (DPT and PhD) and residents succeed. Outside the classroom, they conduct research, practice in one of our faculty practice locations, and serve on grant review panels, editorial boards, and positions within the American Physical Therapy Association and other societies. Some of our most recent accomplishments are highlighted below.
Recognition of Research with Major Federal Awards Principal Investigator
Title
Agency
Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD
“Complex Assessment of Military Performance (CAMP)”
U.S. Department of Defense
Mike Lewek, PT, PhD
“Online Prediction of Gait-Related Trips Post Stroke”
National Institutes of Health; R21
Jessica Cassidy, PT, DPT, PhD
“Brain Network Connectivity Measures in Early Stroke Rehabilitation”
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); R00
Dana McCarty, PT, DPT
“TEMPO: A Feasibility Study of a Physical-Therapist Led Program for Parents of Extremely Pre-Term Infants”
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH); KL2
Recognition as Excellent Teachers and Mentors • •
2018 UNC School of Medicine inducts Lisa B. Johnston, PT, DPT, MA, as a Fellow of the Academy of Educators 2018 Faculty Mentoring Award is given to Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, from the Carolina Women’s Leadership Council in Graduate Student Mentoring
Recognition by the American Physical Therapy Association • • •
Catherine Worthingham Fellows of the APTA on faculty (4): Carol Giuliani, PT, PhD, FAPTA (2016); Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, FAPTA (2019); Michael Gross, PT, PhD, FAPTA (2007); and Darlene Sekerak, PT, PhD (2017). 2017 Vicki S. Mercer, PT, PhD, named Outstanding Physical Therapist by the North Carolina Physical Therapy Association 2016 Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, receives the Lucy Blair Service Award
Recognition as Clinical Experts • • • •
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy: Karen L. McCulloch, PT, PhD Board-Certified Clinical Specialists in Orthopedic Physical Therapy: Jon Hacke, PT, DPT, MA, Mike McMorris, PT, DPT and Jeff O’Laughlin, PT, DPT Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy: Dana B. McCarty, PT, DPT Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT): Mike McMorris, PT, DPT and Jeff O’Laughlin, PT, DPT