Professional Leadership & Practice II

This 8-week course during the second term of the DPT I curriculum is the second of the four Professional Leadership and Practice courses. The course is designed to educate students about the multiple dimensions of professional practice in physical therapy. The course will examine the professional roles of the physical therapist as a health promotion advocate and interprofessional team member. Topics covered in the series include health promotion, interprofessional collaborative practice, leadership, structural determinants of health, reflective practice, cultural humility, and the role of bias in clinical care.

This course combines lecture, independent reading, group discussion, active experiential learning activities, small-group seminars, and written assignments to provide students with the opportunity to promote health behavior change with effective communication strategies and cultural humility. Course topics will include health promotion, behavior change theory, motivational interviewing, structural determinants of health, reflective practice, and the role of explicit and implicit bias in delivery of high-quality care. Students will be asked to engage in reflective writing and reflective listening during class discussions, small group activities and on-line activities to develop skills that optimize shared meaning, motivation, and self-efficacy. Students are also expected to participate in the campus-wide interprofessional day activities and develop e-Portfolio content and reflections as part of the three-year professional development e-portfolio project.