Entry-level DPT Program

Curriculum

The program is completed in three calendar years and includes didactic coursework and clinical education.

Clinical education in the form of professional practice experiences is dispersed throughout the program with longer blocks of time scheduled in the last year. Experiences will include general and specialized practice in a wide variety of settings. Clinical education is available in a variety of practice settings and geographic locations. Some travel may be necessary outside of Omaha, and the student will be required to obtain lodging and assume financial responsibility for living expenses during this period of time.

While full-time work during enrollment is not recommended, part-time employment is feasible.
 

First Professional Year
First Semester (Fall) Hrs   Second Semester (Spring) Hrs
PTD 310 Human Anatomy 7   PTD 314 Professional Development Seminar II 1
PTD 312 Professional Development Seminar I 1   PTD 317 Health Conditions for the Physical Therapist 3
PTD 315 Cell Biology 3   PTD 320 Human Neurobiology 3
PTD 319 Kinesiology/Pathomechanics I 4   PTD 329 Kinesiology/Pathomechanics II 4
PTD 324 Physical Therapy Interventions I 1   PTD 433 Psychological and Sociocultural Aspects of Human Interaction 3
PTD 375 Information Retrieval and the Literature of the Health Sciences 1   PTD 437 Physical Therapy Interventions II 3
Total 17   Total 17
Second Professional Year
Third Semester (Summer) Hrs   Fourth Semester (Fall) Hrs
PTD 328 Motor Control and Motor Learning 3   PTD 428 Medical Imaging for Physical Therapists 2
PTD 405 Exercise Physiology and Prescription 3   PTD 431 Pharmacotherapeutics 2
PTD 432 Professional Development Seminar III 1   PTD 442 Professional Development Seminar IV 1
PTD 434 Professional Practice I 3   PTD 444  Professional Practice II 3
PTD 438 Physical Therapy Interventions III 3   PTD 448 Neuromuscular Physical Therapy I 4
PTD 447 Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy I 3   PTD 556 Critical Inquiry I 1
      PTD 557 Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy II 4
Total 16   Total 17
Third Professional Year
Fifth Semester (Spring) Hrs   Sixth Semester (Summer) Hrs
PTD 435 Ethics in Physical Therapy Practice 3   PTD 439 Physical Therapy Interventions IV

2
PTD 443 Health Care Systems 2   PTD 445 Health and Human Behavior: Educational Strategies for Health Professionals

2
PTD 449 Cardiovascular, Pulmonary  and Integumentary Physical Therapy I 3   PTD 450 Introduction to Differential Diagnosis/Physical Assessment

2
PTD 552 Professional Development Seminar V 1   PTD 553 Physical Therapy Management Systems

2
PTD 554 Professional Practice III 4   PTD 559 Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy II

2
PTD 558 Neuromuscular Physical Therapy II 4   PTD 562 Professional Development Seminar VI 1
PTD 566 Critical Inquiry II 2   PTD 564 Directed Study 2
Total 19   Total 13
Fourth Professional Year
Seventh Semester (Fall) Hrs   Eighth Semester (Spring) Hrs
PTD 680 Professional Practice IV 20   PTD 690 Professional Practice V 16
      PTD 688 Expert Practice in Physical Therapy 2
Total 20   Total 18
Total Program Hours = 135
Entry Level DPT Program Transitional DPT Program

At the Creighton University Medical Center 2006 Commencement, Fr. John P. Schlegel, S.J., Creighton University President stated, "Your professors have challenged you to be leaders in your professions. As a student, you were expected to go beyond the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. Your patients will expect no less of you. Do not disappoint them. Ethics, service, and excellence: These three words have been consistent across the 127 years of Creighton's existence; they serve as the foundation for what we do today. You will carry these with you; they are marks of a Creighton health care professional."

Julie Ekstrum, DPT, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Creighton University, is now a Certified Clinical Specialist in Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy. Ekstrum will be formally recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at the Combined Sections Meeting in February 2008.