Doctor of Physical Therapy – URI Clinical Education
Clinical Education
As a PT student at URI, you’ll experience both part time and full time clinical experiences in a variety of settings. Starting with your first semester in the program, you will begin spending time in clinical settings through Integrated Clinical Experiences. During your third year, you’ll spend most of your time in clinical experiences.
Years 1 & 2: Integrated Clinical Experiences (ICE)
Throughout your first two years of coursework, you’ll participate in part-time Integrated Clinical Experiences at local sites. These experiences are designed for you to practice basic skills as you learn. Students generally complete two outpatient and two inpatient/specialty rotations for one half day a week, for approximately 10 weeks.
Year 3: Clinical Experiences
During your third year, you’ll become more immersed in clinical settings through full-time clinical experiences. You will complete three full-time, 10-week rotations designed for you to learn and practice patient/client management in a variety of practice settings, such as acute care, rehabilitation, orthopedics, sports, pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health, and more. You will play an active role in determining the location of your full time clinical experience, and while most are concentrated in the Rhode Island and New England areas, our faculty have helped students establish experiences at more than 400 locations across the United States.