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Curriculum/Course of Study  Advanced Doctoral Program (Ph.D., PT)
 

Please Note: Program has changed from 2 semester to three semester system.

For students holding master's or entry level master's degree in physical therapy with transferable credits:

 

Semester Hours

Required HPD core courses 12

Required PT core courses

19

Specialty and elective courses

9

Dissertation

20

Please note that 15 additional credit hours maybe required from students who enter the program with an undergraduate degree in physical therapy

Courses will be conducted in an Institute format and as independent study under faculty supervision.  The distance education format enables students to continue their career while earning the degree. 

Graduates will be awarded the Ph.D. degree in Physical Therapy, upon satisfactory completion of all degree requirements. 

Courses marked with an * are required core courses.

Courses at the 6000 level (marked with **) are offered to (and may be required from) students who entered the program with an undergraduate degree. 

Courses at the 7000 level (marked with ***) PHT 7500 and 7510: One of these courses are required. PHT 7113 and PHT 7111: One of these courses is required.

Courses at the 7000 level marked with HPH instead of PHT are the Health Professions Division (HPD) core courses.

HPH 7200  3 Credits
Ethics
Health care professionals are required to act morally and ethically. This course is designed to expand the student's basic understanding of ethics to promote ethical awareness and enable students to derive better health care decisions that reduce risk of potential ethical consequence. By exposing students to bioethics and controversial ethical issues typically encountered in current health care practice, students practice making difficult decisions. Students will synthesize and implement strategies for applying morals, values and ethics systematically in the various settings in which health care is delivered. Considering the perspectives of all stakeholders and the role of the health care provider, patient advocate, professional and consumer of medical care, students will gain workable knowledge of contemporary ethical issues and appreciate that ethics permeate the majority of decisions made in health care.

Top 5

HPH 7300  3 Credits
Biostatistics I
The application of quantitative techniques has expanded rapidly in medical decision-making. The emphasis on evidence based health care means that health care workers must be able to evaluate the results from published health care research studies. This course is the first of two courses designed to provide students with the knowledge of quantitative techniques. The course will cover descriptive statistics, parametric group comparison statistics, basic non-parametric statistics, and provide an introduction to linear modeling.

Top 5

HPH 7310  3 Credits
Biostatistics II
The aim of this course is to enable students to appreciate the richness of statistical science and to invite them to the concepts of probabilistic thinking. Statistics is the science of the future. Any technique that they are going to learn will help them to understand the unknown better, and in turn it will increase their success in other courses and in future professional careers. Principles of statistical inference build upon the course of Fundamentals of Biostatistics. As such, a prerequisite for enrolling in this course of Fundamentals of Biostatistics. The goals of this course are threefold: (1) introduce the basic concepts of probability as well as methods for calculating the probability of an event, (2) assist students in developing and understanding of probability theory and sampling distributions, and (3) familiarize students about inferences involving one or two populations, ANOVA, regression analysis, and chi-square tests.

Top 5

HPH 7400   3 Credits
Research Methods and Design
This course provides a review of the research process, including design, measurement, and statistical analysis. Emphasis is placed on the selection of appropriate methodologies for a variety of problem- solving situations. Emphasis is placed on qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Top 5

PHT 6000**   3 Credits
Professional and Business Communication
This course consists of several aspects of communication. It will address therapeutic communication, and business communications, as well as oral presentation skills.

Top 5

PHT 6010**   2 Credits
Organizational Behavior
Overview of information, insights and skills necessary for the effective delivery of health care services to individuals in minority ethnic groups and cultures.  Attention to those communication and assessment skills needed in order to positively effect the practitioner - patient interaction and enhance compliance.

Top 5

PHT 6020**   3 Credits
Ethical and Legal Issues in Health Care - I
This course deals with ethical, moral, and legal issues affecting the delivery and reimbursement of health care and physical therapy services. Students will gain an understanding of the impact of applicable organizational controls, laws, codes, and standards, on the ethical decision-making process. Topics include confidentiality, abandonment, consent, managed care, resource allocation, reimbursement, and risk management issues. Students are required to participate in group discussions and complete written assignments on selected topics or questions.

Top 5

PHT 6030 **   3 Credits
Health Care Policy Development and History
Students will explore the history of health care delivery and policy development in the United States and globally. Students will analyze, from a historical perspective, the impact of history on policy development, both present and future. References will include works on history and policy, as well as analysis of the works of health care analysts.

Top 5

PHT 6140 **   3 Credits
Ethno-Cultural Issues in Health Care
This course is a survey of ethnic and cultural issues, focusing on the insight and skills necessary to effectively deliver health care services to individuals in minority ethnic groups and cultures. Attention will be directed at individual communication and assessment skills necessary to positively effect the practitioner-patient interaction and enhance patient compliance.

Top 5

PHT 7010 *   3 Credits
Professional Issues in Physical Therapy and Health Care
This course deals with current issues facing the physical therapy profession. Students participate in group discussions and complete a written project on a selected topic.

Top 5

PHT 7020 *   3 Credits
Ethical and Legal Issues in Health Care - II
Students explore more global and controversial bioethical topics in the health care arena. Legal and ethical issues related to topics including animal and human research, genetic engineering, cloning, alternative medicine, life support, organ donation, and telemedicine are analyzed. Students will participate in group discussions, conduct interviews of local legal authorities, and complete written assignments on highly controversial health care practices.

Top 5

PHT 7030 *   4 Credits
Health Care Policy and Health Care Reform
Students explore the global issues of health care reform examining the theories, methodologies of reform, the impact of each upon Physical Therapy, and how practitioners can effect change.

Top 5

PHT 7111***  3 Credits
Qualitative Research Methods 
The focus of this course is to introduce students to qualitative research methods of inquiry. Phenomenological inquiry, grounded theory, ethnography, and other approaches to qualitative research will be examined. Students will gain understanding of the history of qualitative research, the philosophies that drive the various methodologies, strategies for data collection and analysis, ethical considerations, applications and implications of using qualitative research methods in physical therapy. Students will have the opportunity to experience qualitative data collection and analysis.

Top 5

PHT 7112*     3 Credits
Measurement Issues in Physical Therapy Research 
This course is designed for the health professionals to gain an overview of measurement theory and methods. It will focus on problems and challenges of validity and reliability of measurement, and emphasize development, testing, and refinement of norms and criteria referenced data collection instruments.  It will help the student in the development of an analytical view of measurement issues.

Top 5

PHT 7113***     4 credits
Advanced Methods and Design

This course presents statistical methods commonly used in the collection and analysis of health research data.  Topics include descriptive statistics, basic concepts of probability, statistical inference, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, regression, and non-parametric statistical techniques.  Statistical software will be used.  Emphasis is on understanding and applying statistical concepts and techniques to research data.

Top 5

PHT 7120   3 Credits
Critical Inquiry
Students are required to evaluate research literature in a scientific and systematic way.  Knowledge gained in this course will help in developing research proposal using different designs. Note: Required for students entering with a BS degree (PHT 7100 & PHT 7110 are pre requisites)

Top 5

PHT 7130*   3 Credits
Scientific Writing
Students learn how to write in a scientific journal. Practice proposal and grant writing.  In this course students may collect and analyze data using various statistical techniques.  Students will have the opportunity to develop research proposal using different designs. 

Top 5

PHT 7140   3 Credits
The Therapist and Cultural Diversity
In this course the impact of ethnocultural issues, policies and procedures on the therapist will be assessed and analyzed. The complex issues of policy implementation and planning in dealing with ethno-cultural issues will be explored. Continuation of PHT 6140. No prerequisite.

Top 5

PHT 7200   3 Credits
Teaching and Learning in Physical Therapy
This course will examine the complexity of learning and behavioral change. Students will have the opportunity to explore their own learning styles as well as a variety of learning theories, including computer based learning.

Top 5

PHT 7210   3 Credits
Patient Education
Applies teaching-learning theories to patient education issues. Students will complete a project related to teaching and learning for patient groups or for individual patient care. Offered as independent study as needed. Prerequisite: PHT 7200.

Top 5

PHT 7300   3 Credits
Consulting Skills
Students will discuss concepts of the roles and skills of consultants. Students complete a paper on selected topics in consultation.

Top 5

PHT 7310   3 Credits
Consulting as a Physical Therapist
Independent study course. Students apply consulting concepts to prepare a report on a hypothetical or actual consulting situation in physical therapy.

Top 5

PHT 7400   1-10 Credits
Independent Study
Individualized study under the supervision of assigned instructor. Requires permission of graduate coordinator.

Top 5

PHT 7401 1- 4 credits
Independent Study 
Individualized study under the supervision of assigned instructor. Requires permission of graduate coordinator.

Top 5

PHT 7420   3 Credits
Health Care Delivery Systems
This course will address issues in various health-care systems where physical therapists work. Students discuss and complete a report on management of physical therapy services in selected delivery systems.

Top 5

PHT 7430   3 Credits
Physical Therapy Management
This course will address management of fiscal and human resources. Students will participate in discussions and complete a case-study project.

Top 5

PHT 7500***   3 Credits
Computing Technology in Education
This course explores the concepts and principles that underlie the design and development of courseware for physical therapy education. Students will have the opportunity to create such courseware using an authoring system. The goal is for the student to become proficient in the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of effective computer courseware in a state-of- the-art hypermedia/multimedia environment.

Top 5

PHT 7510*** 3 Credits
Designing for the Web

This course explores current concepts and principles of designing for the web. Through "discovery learning," students will develop principles of multimedia design for the web, and then "surf" the web to identify best and worst sites based on those principles. Next, students will apply those principles to the development of individual home pages. Ultimately, students will apply what has been learned in the course to the creation of a web-based course using WebCT.

Top 5

PHT 7600   3 Credits
Human Motion Analysis
TBA

Top 5

PHT 7610   3 credits
Neuroscience
Individualized Study

Top 5

PHT 7620     3 credits
Joint and Skeletal Muscles: Structure and Function 
This guided course allows students to individualize their learning to their interests in orthopedics or sports physical therapy.  Students can choose (with instructor's approval) between a literature review, a research proposal, and/or a case report as their course assignment.

Top 5

PHT 7700    4 credits
Advanced Clinical Competency I
Students will enroll in an advanced clinical course of their choice. The course may be offered by the Physical Therapy program or in a form of a clinical certificate that is approved by the doctoral committee.

Top 5

PHT 7710   4 credits
Advanced Clinical Competency II
Pre-requisite for this course is PHT 7700. A project in the area of chosen clinical competency will be completed under the direction or agreement of the assigned mentor.

Top 5

PHT 7740*    0 credits
Comprehensive Examination

Students in the PhD program in Physical Therapy must take the Comprehensive Examination (Pass/Fail) to be eligible to start the dissertation phase.  To be eligible to take the examination, all the core courses must be completed.  The examination includes questions related to Research, Ethics and Legal Issues, Health Care Policies and Professional Issues.  The student has 6 hours to complete the examination without using any resources.

Top 5

PHT 7800 *   20 credits
Dissertation
Supervised, original research on a physical therapy related topic would be completed under the supervision of a dissertation committee.

Top 5

Inquiries should be directed to the Program Director: Dr. Madeleine Hellman, Ed.D., MHM, PT (954)-262-1282 or or 1-800-356-0026 ext 21282, email:  hellman@nsu.nova.edu

Office of Admissions
Physical Therapy Program
Nova Southeastern University
3200 South University Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328
(954) 262-1101 or (800) 356-0026 x21100

 
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