Physical therapy is a dynamic profession with an established and scientific base and widespread clinical applications in the restoration, maintenance, and promotion of optimal physical function. Physical therapy is defined as the care and services provided by or under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist. Physical therapist assistants work under the direction and supervision of physical therapists to provide physical therapy interventions that require specialized knowledge and skills.
Wallace Community College accepts the responsibility for supplying students with opportunities to learn the necessary information and skills and to obtain clinical practice required for state licensure/regulation and entry-level competence in the field. As educators, faculty model the processes of learning, adapting, and changing as the environment and culture changes in accordance with sound scientific developments in education, instructional delivery methodology, medical science, and physical therapy science. We believe in providing our students with more than just manual skills. We believe that our students should know not only the “how to,” but the “why.” This should produce thinking individuals who will continue to grow and learn after they graduate and be able to demonstrate respect for the uniqueness of every individual.
It is the student’s responsibility, however, to fully utilize the opportunities provided by this educational program. Additionally, the choice of a career is a personal decision, and, having chosen a particular profession, the individual must assume the profession’s inherent responsibilities and adhere to established professional ethics and standards of practice. As students, individuals begin the process of becoming physical therapist assistants and must constantly learn and adapt to different situations, patients, treatment techniques, disease processes, and other conditions.