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WesternU / College of Health Sciences / Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) – Oregon Campus

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) – Oregon Campus

Message from the Department of Physical Therapy Education – Oregon

On behalf of the administration, faculty, and staff, we would like to welcome you to WesternU Oregon Department of Physical Therapy Education (DPTE) located in Lebanon, Oregon. WesternU Oregon’s Doctor of Physical Therapy is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). The overall pass rate on the national licensing exam for the inaugural 2024 class is 100%.

CHS-Northwest physcial therapy students participate in a hands-on musular skeletal return to sports testing lab led by Assistant Professor Chrsitina Gomez, PT, DPT and PT Lab Assistant Quinn Garner.

Our stunning new campus is in the beautiful Willamette Valley. The WesternU Oregon physical therapy program was built in the humanistic tradition where students are prepared to deliver collaborative person-centered care with respect, empathy, and trust. We offer an on-site blended learning curriculum that incorporates in-class active learning that emphasizes problem-solving and evidence-based practice, labs that provide experiential learning opportunities with clients / patients, and service-learning where students learn through hands on experiences while giving back to the community. Interprofessional education, where students learn with, from, and about other professions, is threaded throughout the curriculum so students graduate ready to provide team-based care. Our entry-level curriculum is well-balanced so our students graduate as movement specialists who are prepared to meet the needs of patients across the lifespan and can thrive in all communities of the Pacific Northwest.

Accreditation

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the Department of Physical Therapy Education at Western University of Health Sciences – Oregon campus is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; CAPTE website. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 541-259-0470 or email dpteoregon@westernu.edu. Complete Program cost information can be found on this Financial Fact Sheet.

 

 

CAPTE has a mechanism to consider formal complaints about physical therapy education programs that allege a program is not in compliance with one or more of CAPTE’s Evaluative Criteria or has violated any of CAPTE’s expectations related to academic integrity. In reviewing and acting on a complaint, CAPTE cannot and does not function as an arbiter between the complaint and the institution. Should CAPTE find that a complaint has merit and that the program is out of compliance with the Evaluative Criteria or the integrity statement(s), CAPTE can only require the program to come into compliance with the Evaluative Criteria. CAPTE cannot force a program into any specific resolution of the situation that resulted in the complaint. Students or other interested parties may file a formal complaint about a PT program with CAPTE at any time. To obtain the materials necessary for submitting a complaint, contact the APTA Accreditation Department at (703) 706-3245 or at accreditation@apta.org.


Program Outcomes

Student Goals:

  1. Embrace the program’s mission, values and organizing principles.
  2. Have the capacity and commitment to succeed in doctoral physical therapy education.
  3. Demonstrate an interest to serve rural communities, medically underserved and vulnerable populations.
  4. Develop habits to foster life-long learning to succeed in an evolving health care environment.

Graduate Goals:

  1. Create patient centered care plans within a humanistic tradition, while synthesizing evidence that promotes optimal health outcomes.
  2. Illustrate movement system expertise as autonomous practitioners who welcome collaboration with interprofessional health teams.
  3. Contribute efforts to positively impact the overall health outcomes of communities and society with a commitment to rural environments, medically underserved and vulnerable populations.
  4. Demonstrate leadership, professionalism, and role identity commensurate with a doctorate in physical therapy.
  5. Serve communities to improve health through optimizing movement.
  6. Embrace self-reflection and professional curiosity to pursue ongoing life-long learning.
  7. Strive for excellence in all aspects of physical therapist practice.

DPT-OR of Western University of Health Sciences maintains a retention rate of 94–97% across it’s three cohorts.