Once accepted into the professional phase of the program, learners move through the curriculum as a cohort and complete professional phase courses in the exact sequence in which they are outlined on the Degree Requirements form.
Teaching methods throughout the professional phase of the PTA program vary and may include, but are not limited to the following: PowerPoint lectures, large class discussions, small group discussions, case studies, guest speakers, active learning activities, non-graded classroom assessment techniques, worksheets, videos, inter-professional collaborative learning experiences, student presentations, on-campus “field trips”, off campus learning experiences, debates, online discussion posts, written assignments and lab activities.
In addition to the lectures and labs that take place on campus, students are also required to complete clinical education courses within the PTA program. Clinical education courses are incorporated into the curriculum and begin during the summer semester of the professional phase. Students complete a total of three separate clinical education experiences that are assigned based upon a variety of factors. Clinical education courses occur throughout the two year program starting with 4 weeks in the summer semester, 5 weeks in the fall II semester and the final clinical experience is 6 weeks during the spring II semester. Physical therapist assistant students provide physical therapy interventions in clinical settings under the direction and supervision of physical therapists. Students must arrange their personal schedule and have the ability to complete 40-45 hours/week for each of these clinical courses. Students are assigned a Clinical Instructor (CI), who is either a PTA or a physical therapist and the students are required to maintain the same work schedule as the assigned CI throughout the clinical affiliation.
Students graduating from the PTA Program graduate in May. Graduates are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for Physical Therapist Assistants, which is administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Information about the NPTE can be found at www.fsbpt.org.
Successful completion of the NPTE allows graduates to apply for state licensure as a PTA.
Clinical Education is an integral part of the academic preparation of the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA). It requires the dedication and cooperation of many parties including the academic faculty, the clinical instructors, the clinical coordinators and other clinicians who interact with the learners in their quest to learn how to do "what they do" with such ease on a day to day basis.
This site has been developed to help serve as a resource center for information regarding the Clinical Education component of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, NJ. Information contained within this site is intended to be used as a guideline and any questions regarding the information should be directed to Rachel Tallone, PT, PT, the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE). We hope that you find the site helpful and thank you for your support of our program and PTAs!