Physical Therapy Department
Broadening Experiences
Broadening Experiences facilitate the synthesis of skills learned in previous courses in the Physical Therapy Program and apply them to a service-learning/clinical environment. Each Broadening Experience has been developed to provide a unique opportunity related to physical 
therapy which would not otherwise be experienced in a more typical clinical setting. In these courses students plan, prepare for, and participate in a two-week-long volunteer service/clinical opportunity. During the experience the students provide clinical and other services as directed by the clinical site, under the supervision of the physical therapy faculty/clinicians. During the experience students are expected to complete a journal documenting their professional and personal growth. Upon return from the experience students will present an overview to their peers and faculty members.
Some examples of past and upcoming Broadening Experiences:
- Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation - Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Paiute Reservations, Tuba City, Arizona.
- Dublin, Ireland - outpatient physical therapy clinic
- Ferrymead, South Island, New Zealand - outpatient physical therapy clinic
- Centro Maya, San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala – center for children and adults with disabilities
- Greenlock Therapeutic Riding Center, Rehobath, MA – therapeutic Hippotherapy
- Women’s Health Experience - Women and Infant’s Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
- Home Health Experience - Narragansett to North Kingstown, RI
- Wound Care Experience – Westerly, RI
- Belgium - working with disabled athletes
- Mercy Ships – providing PT and other support services on a hospital ship in Africa
- South Africa - working with a PT who does program development in rural villages
- Haiti – Working with a Canadian PT who does program development in rural villages
- Belize - working with a PT who does program development in rural villages
- Pediatric Oncology – Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
- Therapilates – outpatient clinic in California
Announcements
The Physical Therapy Department at URI will participate in the Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) for the 2009-10 admissions cycle. Applicants for the 2010 entering class can apply online using the PTCAS Web application, beginning on July 15, 2009. To learn more about the PTCAS application process, please visit www.ptcas.org.
Program Highlights
