Clinical Education Program

At OSU-Cascades DPT, we’re all about connecting what you learn in the classroom with real-world practice. Starting in your first year, you’ll have clinical education experiences—also called internships—where you get to work with real patients in a clinic and apply what you’ve learned. Application of clinical skills happens throughout your time in the program and takes place in a variety of settings, helping you develop a wide range of skills.

Clinical Education Curriculum and Timeline

The OSU-C Year One Program spans across three academic terms (Winter, Spring, and Summer) during the first year, providing students with early exposure to clinical practice. In these experiences, pairs of students are placed in local clinics under the supervision of a clinical instructor to apply the clinical and professional skills they are learning in the classroom. During the Winter and Spring terms of the Year One Program, students attend three-hour (3) sessions on Wednesday afternoons, culminating in a full-time, two-week clinical rotation in the Summer term.

During the second year of the program, students apply their hands-on skills through community volunteer sessions directly linked to their clinical management coursework. Additional opportunities to develop clinical and professional competencies are embedded throughout the curriculum to further prepare students for their terminal clinical education experiences.

In the final year of the DPT program, students complete three (3) 10-week full-time clinical rotations in diverse settings across the country, with a primary focus in the Pacific Northwest. These immersive experiences occur after all didactic coursework is completed, allowing students to further develop the clinical and professional competencies necessary to become outstanding entry-level clinician-scientists. Student performance during these rotations is assessed using the Clinical Internship Evaluation Tool (CIET), which evaluates students’ abilities across key domains essential for entry-level physical therapy practice, including clinical reasoning, patient management, communication, and professionalism. These rotations align with the academic calendar and occur during the following quarters:

  • Late September through mid-December
  • January through mid-March
  • Late March through mid-June

 

  FALL WINTER SPRING SUMMER
Year One Classroom Coursework Integrated Clinical Experience
3hr/wk		 Integrated Clinical Experience
2 week full-time
(Classroom coursework continues across Winter–Summer)
Year Two Classroom Coursework
On-campus patient experiences integrated
with clinical classes
Year Three Clinical Education
10-week full time		 Clinical Education
10-week full time		 Clinical Education
10-week full time

 

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1st Year Clinical Experiences

 

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32 Weeks of Full Time Clinical Education

 

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Clinical Opportunities Available Across the Country & Abroad

 

Clinical Education Placement

Placement Process

For the third-year clinical education experiences, student input plays a key role in the placement process. Each student receives individual guidance and support as they indicate their clinical site preferences for each clinical rotation.

 

Placement Requirements

To ensure both breadth and depth in clinical experiences at OSU-Cascades, we have established clinical education requirements designed to support student development and prepare them with foundational skills for professional practice.  Each student is required to complete clinical experiences in the following areas:

  1. Medically Complex
  2. Musculoskeletal
  3. Non-Musculoskeletal
  4. Rural or Medically Underserved
  5. Urban

In Oregon, healthcare students in clinical training are subject to standardized administrative requirements to ensure student, patient, and staff safety. These requirements, outlined in Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 409-030, include immunizations, screenings, background checks, training, and proof of insurance.

Clinical Education Partnerships

Our program is built on strong partnerships with physical therapists and healthcare organizations across Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond—including a few international sites. These dedicated clinicians share their knowledge and expertise by welcoming students into their clinical settings, from weekly three-hour sessions to full 10-week internships.

Opportunities for Clinical Partners

Our curriculum is designed to prepare students to thrive in today’s dynamic and complex healthcare environment. Achieving this goal depends on the expertise and dedication of our clinical instructors, and we are committed to supporting our clinical partners in both their clinical teaching and practice.

Clinical partners are sought in settings that expose students to the following areas:

  • Specialty areas of practice:
    • E.g. Pediatrics; Neurologic populations
  • Medically complex settings:
    • E.g. Acute/ICU/Critical Care; SNF/ECF/Sub-Acute; Rehabilitation

We offer the following benefits to our clinical instructors:

  • Discounted registration for the APTA Level 1 and Level 2 Credentialed Clinical Instructor Programs hosted virtually by OSU-Cascades.
  • Continuing Education Credit eligibility for serving as a CI—availability varies based on individual state licensing board requirements.
  • OSU Research Library access For more information, please contact us at dptclinicalprogram@osucascades.edu.

Become a Clinical Site/Partner

If you are interested in partnering with OSU-Cascades DPT and becoming a clinical instructor, please contact dptclinicalprogram@osucascades.edu.