DPHT 7153 Comprehensive Exams

1 SCH. This course integrates all previous didactic course work and culminates in a simulated complex patient case and a practice physical therapy licensure written examination. This course will provide students the opportunity to synthesize and integrate all of their didactic course work into a simulated physical therapy examination and intervention strategy for patients with complex diagnoses.

This course includes two parts:
a) Taking a comprehensive practical exam
b) A computer-based physical therapy license practice exam

a) Comprehensive Practical Exam:
The purpose of the comprehensive practical examination is to emphasize that students are expected to acquire and cumulatively maintain levels of competence necessary for successful completion of the program and clinical practice after graduation. The comprehensive practical exam will test students¿ knowledge, attitudes, ability to practice safely, and ability to perform psychomotor skills, reasoning, problem-solving skills, time management, organizational skills and clinical experiences completed related to coursework completed in the first two years of the program.

Students are required to pass the comprehensive practical examination. Students must safely and effectively pass the comprehensive practical examinations that have been required as part of their pre-clinical course work prior to going on their full-time clinical experiences. Given the expectation and necessity for safe practice in the clinical setting all students are required to demonstrate safe practice and to meet a minimal passing
grade for the comprehensive practical exam in the program. The minimal passing grade for the comprehensive practical exam is 80%.

Comprehensive practical exam will only be considered for a passing grade if a student demonstrates safe practice. If a student does not demonstrate safe practice the student automatically receives a failing grade, even if they are able to demonstrate successful completion of other exam criteria. Safe practice alone does not ensure a passing grade. Students must also meet the practical exam criteria for a passing grade in order to
successfully pass the examination.

Students who fail the comprehensive practical examination on the first attempt will have opportunities to remediate to re-take a similar examination. The remediation plan will be determined by the course instructors and will be different for each student based on student¿s performance in different areas in the comprehensive practical exam. At the discretion of the course instructors, a student may have a remediation plan that may waive the exam re-take. A student can re-take a comprehensive examination only one time. A re-take for the comprehensive practical examination must be completed during the semester in which the course is offered. Students who have not successfully completed the comprehensive practical examination will not be allowed to go on their clinical education experiences/internships until they have successfully completed the comprehensive practical examination and/or individualized remediation plan.

b) A computer-based physical therapy license practice exam:
The second part of this course consists of taking a physical therapy license practice exam. The purpose of this exam is to help students prepare for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). The exam gives the students an opportunity to take a timed, computer-based, multiple-choice examination that closely resembles the National Physical Therapy Examination. The exam will provide the most comprehensive resources and tools for students to develop an efficient and effective study plan, assess their individual strengths and weaknesses and increase their critical reasoning skills to pass the National Physical Therapy Examination.
Offered Summer
Pass/No Pass