Service Learning Course Designation Form
Use this form to request a Service Learning Course Designation for a new or existing course.
Proposed course title should end with the following designation: /Service Learning
I. Service Learning Course
Physical Therapy
PT G 628
Dept/Program
Course Number
Student Clinic
(e.g. SW UG 423)
Subject
Course Title (e.g.
Physical Therapy Student Clinic/Service Learning
Addiction
Studies/SvcLrn)
Short Title (max. 26
PT Student Clinic
characters incl. spaces)
1
Number of credits
Susan Ostertag, PT, DPT
Instructor name
243-6120; susan.ostertag@umontana.edu
Instructor phone
and e-mail
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete this form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please Type/Print Name
Signature
Date
Requestor
Requestor phone
and e-mail
Program
Chair/Director
Other affected
programs
Dean
Susan Ostertag
243-6120
susan.ostertag@umontana.edu
Reed Humphrey
Dave Forbes
III. UM Service Learning Definition: Service Learning is a method of teaching and learning
in which students, faculty and community partners work together to enhance student
learning by applying academic knowledge in a community-based setting. Student work
addresses the needs of the community, as identified through collaboration with community
or tribal partners, while meeting instructional objectives through faculty-structured service
work and critical reflection meant to prepare students to be civically responsible members
of the community. At its best, service learning enhances and deepens students’
understanding of an academic discipline by facilitating the integration of theory and
practice, while providing them with experience that develops life skills and engages them
in critical reflection about individual, institutional, and social ethics.
IV.Service Learning Course Criteria The University of Montana-Missoula has established the
following criteria for Service Learning courses. In order to receive the Service Learning course
designation, a course must clearly exemplify all of the following criteria:
 Students in the course will provide a needed service to individuals, organizations, schools, or other
not-for-profit or tax-exempt entities in the community.
 The service experience is directly related to the subject matter of the course.
 Knowledge from the discipline informs the service experiences with which the students are to be
involved.
 Activities in the classroom will provide opportunities for students to reflect upon what they have
learned through the service experience and how these experiences relate to the subject matter of the
course.
 The course offers a method to assess the learning derived from the service. Credit will be given for
the learning and its relation to the course, not for the service alone.
 Service interactions in the community will recognize the needs of service recipients, and offer an
opportunity for community partner(s) to provide advice and feedback on the nature and value of the
service performed by the students.
 Training (by the service agency) and preparation (by the course instructor) ensure that students
perform service activities in a professional manner and that vulnerable populations are not harmed.
 Service options ensure that no student is required to participate in a service placement that creates a
religious, political, or moral conflict for the student.
 In a 3-credit service learning course, students should be required to perform a minimum of 15 hours
of community service per semester (i.e. 5 hours of service per academic credit.) Service hours may
include hours spent in training, preparation, and direct contact with clients.
V. Confirmation of Service Learning Course Criteria: Explain how this course meets each of
the following criteria.
Need for service: Describe the community-
identified need and the nature of the service
experience students will be involved in.
According to a Partnership Health Center
(PHC), over 20% Missoula County residents
do not have health insurance coverage.
Fifty-eight percent of patients seen at PHC
are without uninsured. Historically, 18.1% of
the patients seen in The University of
Montana’s New Directions Physical Therapy
Clinic do not have health insurance. As a
result, these individuals cannot afford to
access the services of physical therapists for
musculoskeletal injuries and/or pain, postoperative therapy, or preventative education
and development of home exercise and/or
gym programs for wellness and fitness.
Through Service Learning at the University of
Montana and New Directions Physical
Therapy, students will be providing
rehabilitation and wellness treatments to
individuals with chronic or acute pain related
to musculoskeletal dysfunction, disease, or
injury. These individuals do not have health
insurance coverage for physical therapy.
These treatments will be provided under the
supervision and guidance of a licensed
physical therapist (PT). Students will work
individually or as part of a collaborative
model, with two students working with one
patient. Opportunities will be made as
indicated for direct communication between
the student and the referring physician,
social worker, consulting pharmacist, or other
health care providers involved in the patient’s
care.
Relation to course content: Describe how the
service experience is related to the subject matter of
the course. How do students apply their classroom
learning in the service experience?
In the Student Clinic, 2nd and 3rd year
graduate PT students have the opportunity to
utilize skills they have learned in the didactic
setting such as (but not limited to):
musculoskeletal evaluation, orthopedics,
therapeutic interventions,
prevention/wellness, cardiopulmonary,
exercise physiology, documentation.
Reflection: What opportunities are provided in the
classroom for students to reflect upon what they
have learned through their service experience?
Assessment: What method(s) are used to assess
the learning derived from the service experience?
Reciprocity: How do community partner(s)
provide advice and feedback on the nature and
value of the service performed?
All students providing services in the student
clinic will be required to document daily notes
on each patient seen, and this will include
information regarding problems,
interventions, assessment of the
effectiveness of the treatment, and a plan for
further intervention. Reflection will be
mandatory each day of the clinic between the
students providing services and the
supervising PT. This reflection will the
affective and cognitive domains of learning,
including interpersonal perceptions and
interactions, critical thinking, effectiveness of
the treatment and interactions between the
student and the patient, and strategies used
during the treatment and recommended for
further treatments. Oral reflection will also
occur in PT 627 Prevention/Wellness class
for the 3rd year PT students in the fall
semester.
Documentation (treatment notes,
evaluations, progress notes to physicians)
will be reviewed and commented on by the
supervising PT, and then reassessed after
corrections are made by the student. Each
student is expected to make corrections and
resubmit the documentation for review before
it is officially a part of the patient’s chart.
Surveys will be completed by the students
and patients at the end of the clinic. The
patient survey focuses on effectiveness of
the treatments, care provided, and
satisfaction overall. The student survey
covers the overall function of the clinic as
well as the learning experience itself.
Partnership Health Center is providing
patient referrals for the Student Clinic. PHC
is a County medical office that accepts
patients without medical coverage. Student
coordinators of the Student Clinic meet with
the staff and medical director of PHC at the
start of the semester, and all of the students
communicate with the referring physician
through faxes, evaluations, progress notes,
and phone calls as appropriate.
Training: What training and preparation will be
A formal orientation will occur before the
students will participate in the Student Clinic.
This will cover such areas including:
referrals; requirements for documentation;
required consultations with the supervising
PT; location of necessary items; use of
space, staff, equipment; and guidelines
reflection. A licensed physical therapist will
be available during clinic hours directly
outside the treatment area or will provide in
room supervision if deemed necessary by
the PT. Each student will discuss
interventions, assessments and education
intended for the patient they are to treat prior
to the treatment or evaluation. The
supervising PT will intervene at any time and
take control of the treatment if indicated
based on the patient’s response to the
student’s intervention or if there are any risks
of harm to the patient.
Service options: What service options exist to
This service learning opportunity is not
ensure that no student is required to participate in a mandatory. It is one option available to
service placement that creates a religious, political, students. Student participation is on a
or moral conflict?
volunteer basis. Students are expected to
demonstrate the professional behaviors
expected of any health care professional,
and have completed previous formal
internship(s) by the time they are
participating in the Student Clinic. This
includes cultural sensitivity and respect for all
individuals.
Number of service hours required: How many
The Student Clinic schedule will require a
hours of service per semester are students required
commitment of three consecutive clinic days
to perform? Provide detailed description of the
by each student to help improve continuity of
service activities to be performed.
care for the patient and the learning
experience for the student. The clinic will run
one day/week for a minimum of 10 weeks
each semester. The student will be required
to complete 9 hours of scheduled treatment
time in the clinic seeing patients. An
additional 6 hours will be mandatory during
the semester performing documentation,
preparing for patient care, performing
literature searches and other research
outside of the clinic, and to allow for
adequate reflection time in the clinic and
didactic settings.
VI. Community Partner Information: Provide information on the organization(s) that will
provide service placements for students in this course.
provided to assure that that students perform their
service activities in a professional manner and that
vulnerable populations are not harmed?
Name of Agency/Organization(s)
Partnership Health Center
Contact person name(s)
Dr. Allison Forney-Gorman
Contact person(s) phone and e-mail
ph: 258-4789
Forneya@phc.missoula.mt.us
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. The syllabus should
clearly indicate that this is a service learning course and it should include the UM Service Learning
Definition as text within the syllabus. The syllabus should also demonstrate how the above criteria are
satisfied. For assistance in preparing a service learning course syllabus, see
http://www.compact.org/syllabi/ or contact Andrea Vernon, Director of the Office for Civic
Engagement: andrea.vernon@umontana.edu.
See below for copy of syllabus.
VIII. Copies and Electronic Submission: Submit approved original, and electronic file to the
Faculty Senate Office, UH 221, camie.foos@mso.umt.edu.
Physical Therapy Student Clinic
Fall 2009
1 credit
Instructor:
Susan Ostertag, PT, DPT
135 Skaggs, ph 243-6120
susan.ostertag@umontana.edu
Office Hours: Schedule by email
Teaching Methods/Learning Experiences: Through Service Learning at the University of
Montana and New Directions Physical Therapy, students will be providing rehabilitation and
wellness treatments to individuals with chronic or acute pain related to musculoskeletal
dysfunction, disease, or injury. These individuals do not have health insurance coverage for
physical therapy, would otherwise not receive physical therapy, and are referred from
Partnership Health Center. These treatments will be provided under the supervision and
guidance of a licensed physical therapist (PT). Students will work individually or as part of a 2:1
model, with two students and one patient.
Each interaction with the patient will be discussed with the supervising PT prior to the student
treating or evaluating the patient. The documentation of each treatment and evaluation will be
completed by the student and reviewed by the supervising PT. Direct feedback from the
supervising PT will be given to each student on the documentation of treatments and evaluations.
Opportunities will be made as indicated for direct communication between the student and the
referring physician, social worker, consulting pharmacist, or other health care providers involved
in the patient’s care.
UM Service Learning Definition: Service Learning is a method of teaching and learning in
which students, faculty and community partners work together to enhance student learning by
applying academic knowledge in a community-based setting. Student work addresses the needs
of the community, as identified through collaboration with community or tribal partners, while
meeting instructional objectives through faculty-structured service work and critical reflection
meant to prepare students to be civically responsible members of the community. At its best,
service learning enhances and deepens students’ understanding of an academic discipline by
facilitating the integration of theory and practice, while providing them with experience that
develops life skills and engages them in critical reflection about individual, institutional, and
social ethics.
Student Evaluation/Grading and Commitment: Students will be given full credit for the
course upon completion of:
1. A minimum of 9 hours of scheduled clinic time,
2. Active participation in reflection with the supervising physical therapist as well as in the
didactic setting when given the opportunity,
3. Completion of a survey at the end of the clinic. This survey will include questions
regarding overall impression and management of the clinic as well as critical thinking
regarding how the learning experience affected the student personally, and how the
student would improve upon their own performance and/or the clinic itself.
4. If any of the above areas (1,2,3) cannot be completed the student must discuss other
options for Service Learning with the instructor prior to the November 1, 2009. The
student and instructor must agree on a comparable Service Learning experience including
time commitment and reflection in order to obtain credit for this course.
Physical Therapy Student
Clinic pg 2
If the requirements for “Student Evaluation/Grading and Commitment” listed above are
not met the student will not receive credit for the class.
Reading: Students will be required to perform literature reviews and research outside of
scheduled clinic treatment time to provide adequate evidence for treatment interventions and
evaluation techniques, as well as outcome measurements specific to the patient’s condition.
Students will utilize textbooks and resources from the UMPT Clinics, as well as previous and
concurrent didactic classes.
Schedule: The Student Clinic will operate during the fall semester 2009 each Friday that the
University is open between October 2, 2009 and December 11, 2009. Scheduled treatment times
will be from 12:30 to 3:30. Students will be expected to arrive a minimum of 15 minutes early to
prepare for their scheduled patients and discuss the treatment plans with the supervising physical
therapist. Students will be expected to complete all documentation for the treatments the day of
the clinic, and evaluations/discharge documentation within 5 days. This will allow adequate
time for review and correction of the documentation by both the supervising PT and the student.
Students will be expected to reflect upon the service learning experience each day of the clinic
with fellow students and the supervising PT.
Planned Student Clinic dates:
October 2
October 9
October 16
October 23
October 30
November 6
November 13
November 20
November 27: No Student Clinic due to Thanksgiving Holiday
December 4
December 11
Course Objectives:
1. Student will demonstrate and perform evaluations and treat individuals in the UM student clinic
under the general supervision of a licensed physical therapist.
2. Student will participate in reflection on a daily basis with their peers and the supervising physical
therapist, as well as providing a more general reflection in writing of the overall service learning
experience a the end of the semester.
3. Student will demonstrate the ability to provide research or evidence to support the evaluations,
interventions, and patient education performed during this service learning experience.
4. The student will “demonstrate social responsibility, citizenship, and advocacy, including
participation in community and human services, organizations and activities”. (APTA Guide to
Physical Therapy Practice, 1999)
5. The student will identify individual and cultural considerations, including psychosocial issues,
unique to each patient interaction during this Service Learning activity.
6. The student will identify and consider barriers each individual patient has in regard to accessing
health care services, maintaining compliance with education and home programs, and pursuing
improved health and wellness.