The Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
The Department of Physical Therapy Education was created to extend Elon’s mission of excellence to a new arena of professional education. It offers students an opportunity to prepare for multifaceted roles in the physical therapy profession.
Elon’s DPT program seeks to produce graduates who will be highly skilled clinician generalists. Graduates will exemplify compassion for individuals of every age, means and ethnicity, and they will be well prepared for leadership, possessing professional integrity as they become part of the health care team.
Cone Health - Alamance Regional’s values mirror those of Elon University: excellence, compassion, efficiency, creativity and leadership. The partnership with Cone Health-Alamance Regional Medical Center provides continuing professional growth for physical therapy faculty.
The educational philosophy of the DPT program emphasizes preparation for the continuum of care essential to the well-being of the individual client. The faculty incorporate teaching and learning strategies appropriate for the more mature learner, utilizing current communication and computer technology. The program encourages critical thinking, active learning, strong experiential learning and an evidence-informed approach to treatment interventions.
Graduates will be prepared as clinician generalists to provide services throughout the broad spectrum of care, including intensive care, acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient care, home care and skilled nursing. Physical therapists work as members of the health care team, and they function as a point of entry into the health care system.
Elon University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program prepares innovative, ethical, and relationship-driven clinicians through a curriculum emphasizing clinical reasoning, inclusive excellence, intercultural responsiveness, engaged and experiential learning, and collaborative leadership. In partnership with Cone Health – Alamance Regional Medical Center, the program advances equitable health outcomes, delivers evidence-informed and value-based care, fosters wellness, and collaborates with diverse communities and interprofessional teams, promoting leadership within evolving local and global healthcare systems.
By pursuing this educational mission with integrity and the desire for excellence, the DPT Program will prepare physical therapists who reflect this vision of the profession as espoused by the American Physical Therapy Association:
Student Goals:
- Students demonstrate respect for individuals from a variety of ethnic, cultural, language, geographic, socioeconomic, and age backgrounds.
- Students have compassion for the client as a whole person with physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs.
- Students practice physical therapy as generalist clinicians with the highest possible ethical and legal standards.
- Students are problem-solvers and creative members of the primary healthcare team with excellent communication skills.
- Students are strong patient/client teachers and oriented to wellness and prevention.
- Students serve as leaders and role models in the clinical setting and the community at large.
- Students are motivated and prepared to continue lifelong learning through continuing education, specialization and/or advanced study.
- Students provide leadership in professional activities that promote the advancement of the profession.
Graduate Goals:
- Graduates are Doctors of Physical Therapy with enhanced professional identity who are prepared for autonomous practice and direct access to consumers across the continuum of care, providing healthcare, prevention, and wellness services.
- Graduates are recognized by consumers as healthcare professionals for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of movement-related impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities.
- Graduates commit to providing comprehensive and accessible healthcare programs for all people with dignity, respect, and sensitivity to and appreciation of individual differences.
- Graduates are motivated and guided by the desire for excellence and the highest possible professional, scientific, ethical, legal, and moral standards.
- Graduates render services that reflect best practice and are committed to lifelong learning through continuing professional education, growth, and advancement.
- Graduates are leaders and mentors in the physical therapy profession and promote the profession through their support and involvement in community groups and professional organizations, including the APTA.
Faculty Goals:
- Faculty demonstrate excellence in teaching.
- Faculty engage in active scholarship agendas that contribute to the profession and inform teaching.
- Faculty achieve promotion and tenure, as appropriate.
- Faculty contribute to the institution and professional communities through active engagement, service, and leadership.
- Faculty demonstrate commitment to cultural humility and social responsibility.
- Faculty reflect a commitment to lifelong learning.
- Faculty demonstrate high ethical and legal standards in teaching, research, and practice.
Program Goals:
- Be a national model of excellence and innovative physical therapy education.
- Attract and retain high-quality faculty and staff.
- Support faculty teaching excellence by promoting best teaching practices and supporting effective innovative pedagogical practices.
- Support faculty and student scholarly activities that makes significant contributions to physical therapy and related fields.
- Promote excellence in clinical practice, remaining current with contemporary healthcare needs and practices.
- Demonstrate commitment to cultural humility and social responsibility as part of a global community.
- Support faculty and staff contributions to the university and professional communities through active engagement, service, and leadership.
- Foster inter-professional collaboration for optimal patient and client outcomes.
- Provide a best-value education through management of both program costs and benefits.
- Maintain high ethical and legal standards.