One of the fastest job growths in the industry today is physical therapy (PT).
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, PT is projected to grow 34 percent between the years of 2014 and 2024. With that statistic it means a higher demand of PT programs on the doctorate level. With that said, Kean University joined the many colleges and universities offering a doctorate program in PT. As of June 2016, Kean University began the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program (DPT).
Since the start of the program, some of the students part of the program began the DPT Club, which will be fully recognized by spring of 2017. Students who are a part of the DPT program can be a part of the club.
"We would like to keep the DPT Club as a club for DPT students, but at the same time we would like to be a guide and a role model going forward to undergraduate students who would like to pursue a career in PT," comments Joseph Anello, a student of the DPT program and Co-President of the club.
Anello explains that as a club, they would like to have more resources to learn more about PT, like guest speakers. He further comments that this club would be used as a tool to help enhance a student's academic learning.
Anello is someone who knew he wanted to pursue a career in PT since high school. He comments that "before you apply, you have to make sure you like it." So completing shadowing hours is ideal before a student applies to a DPT program.
Anello continues to say a best way to retrieve a shadowing position is by asking to volunteer at a clinic "because they would rarely turn down volunteers." Students can volunteer a few hours a week in the inpatient and outpatient field.
The DPT program is a three year program at Kean University. In order for students to be a part of the DPT program, one must take several prerequisite courses as an undergraduate student, which include general biology, calculus and/or statistics and chemistry.
Students applying to any DPT program have to apply through Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (PTCAS), the general application for all graduate schools offering a DPT program. Through this application, students will be required to send in his or her Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, official transcripts, observation hours and other required information.
Anello comments that the program at Kean University is "amazing. I like that we are all together and the professors are very approachable." He continues to speak highly of the professors, including "Dr. Clifford, [the] Director [of the program,] is really helpful when she teaches and she welcomes everyone to approach her anytime to ask questions."
How Kean University DPT program differs from other programs is the fact that students do a numerous amount of clinical hours throughout the year.
"We do clinical hours during the spring, the fall and summer semester whereas some schools just have it throughout the summer," comments Anello. He continues, "for example, we learn about the shoulder one week in class, then I get to go to the clinic and see a patient being treated for a shoulder that same week."
Although the DPT program started in June, students are able to get a good grasp of what life is like in the professional field of PT. With this program, students interested in pursuing a degree in PT now have another university to choose from.
