Mission
Our mission is to develop autonomous, compassionate, and reflective physical therapists. The faculty supports our graduates' pursuit of becoming experts in the movement system and champions of holistic, evidence-informed care. We emphasize lifelong learning, ensuring our graduates are equipped to adapt to evolving healthcare challenges and committed to enhancing the health and well-being of diverse communities.
Vision
Our vision is to be a leader in physical therapy education, leveraging our diverse university, health system, and community relationships to provide the best return on investment for our physical therapy faculty and students.
Physical Therapy
Health Sciences Campus
Room 1304
987 St. Sebastian Way
Augusta, GA 30912
Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that to meet society's healthcare needs, physical therapists must be clinically competent, mature, self-directed, and lifelong learners. They should be able to function autonomously within a complex healthcare system and exhibit intellectual curiosity, openness, caring, and flexibility. We value open-minded individuals who can critically analyze ideas, understand human nature, and have broad interests.
The two major components of the professional education curriculum are clinical and academic experiences. We believe the academic setting is designed to provide knowledge that is integrated and expanded in the clinical setting. We believe that teaching and learning activities are interactive processes that require the active participation of both the teacher and learners. We deeply value individuality and diversity in thought and experience and believe that a wide range of teaching methodologies should be utilized to meet the stated objectives of the learning experience. This emphasis on diversity and inclusion makes all members of our community feel respected and included.
The most effective and efficient curriculum uses a competency-based approach and case-based learning experiences. This approach stimulates problem-solving and self-awareness and promotes personal leadership development. We believe that spiraling learning experiences throughout the curriculum enhance the acquisition, utilization, and retention of concepts and skills necessary for entry-level practice, instilling confidence in our students about their career preparedness.
The faculty believes that we are responsible for establishing acceptable performance levels within the scope of practice as defined by the profession. We are also responsible for evaluating learner performance and providing feedback regarding their performance. Evaluations should be used both as a teaching tool (informative evaluation) and a certifying tool (summative evaluation). The faculty believes that preliminary clinical competence should be evaluated across courses. A critical component of the evaluation process is self-evaluation, and it is the faculty's responsibility to facilitate the development of meaningful self-evaluation skills among the learners.
The faculty believes that we provide the learners with role models of scholarly practitioners, competent and up-to-date clinicians, researchers, and skillful educators. The faculty believes that we have the primary responsibility for establishing the learning environment in the classroom. The learners and the faculty share the responsibility for maintaining that environment. The faculty believes in balancing faculty obligations (professional, institutional, departmental, and personal) and availability to self, other faculty, and students. The control of that balance lies within the individual faculty member.
Learners have the ultimate responsibility for their own learning. This requires openness, making choices, accepting the consequences of those choices, soliciting, and providing constructive feedback/guidance, participating in experiences offered, evaluating their own experiences, and seeking help when needed. The qualities of the learners that the professional program will enhance or develop are professional competence, critical thinking, self-evaluation, self-reliance, sensitivity, clear communication, respect for self and others, lifelong learning, self-confidence, creativity, responsibility, accountability, caring, and curiosity.
As active participants and partners in the professional education experience, learners may be offered opportunities to participate in programmatic development, evaluation, and improvement within the Department.
