Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation

Return to: Departments

GRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 

Master of Science–Athletic Training
Master of Science–Occupational Therapy
Master of Science–Physician Assistant Studies
Doctorate of Physical Therapy 

Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation
Student Services Building, room 202
Phone: 812-237-8232
Fax: 812-237-4368
Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/athtrn

Department Chairperson: Dr. Leamor Kahanov

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation offers four post-professional allied health care programs: Occupational Therapy Program (OT), Physician Assistant Program (M.S.), Physical Therapy Program (D.P.T.) and a Post-Professional Athletic Training Education Program (M.S.). 

FACILITIES

The Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation is located in the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, and is housed in the Sycamore Wellness and Applied Medicine Center. The Department includes a fully equipped athletic training room, the Indiana State University Sports Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy Clinic, the Clinical Instructional Laboratory, and Instructional examination rooms, shared simulation center and an active Applied Medicine Research Center. In addition, the Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, and Motor Learning Laboratories support the graduate curricula and research.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

The department’s programs are designed to develop students into scholarly clinicians. In order to accomplish this, students take courses that increase their depth of knowledge in athletic training, physician assistant studies and physical therapy through lecture, laboratory, and discussion. All students have to complete a research experience either through a master’s thesis or graduate research project.

ATHLETIC TRAINING

The post-professional Athletic Training Program’s curriculum is focused upon three points of distinction: evidence based medicine, athletic training education, and leadership.

 Objectives: 

  The objectives of the Athletic Training Post-Professional Program are built on these foundations listed above and include:

• Development of critical thinking skills
• Use of evidence based medicine to make optimal clinical decisions
• Ability to educate patients, colleagues, students, and others
  
• Development of leadership skills in athletic training

Note: Graduates of the Post-Professional Athletic Training program will earn a Master’s of Science in Athletic Training.  The mission of the program is to expand the depth and breadth of entry-level knowledge and to produce and disseminate new knowledge in the profession.  The program develops scholarly clinicians through in-depth interprofessional education, research, and clinical experiences in three distinct areas: evidence based medicine, athletic training education, and leadership.  The program points of distinction are unique to Indiana State and are integrated throughout the curriculum.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

The mission of the Occupational Therapy program is to provide competent health care providers who possess basic skills as a health care provider, consultant, educator, manager, researcher, and advocate for the profession and the consumer. In addition the program seeks to improve patient access and quality care for rural and underserved populations through interprofessional education.

Educational objectives of the Occupational Therapy program are as follows:

• Utilize critical thinking with the knowledge derived from the biological, behavioral, and clinical sciences for clinical decision-making.
• Demonstrate ethical behavior consistent with professional and legal standards. 
• Provide guidance and interventions to promote wellness, health promotion and enhance the physical performance of persons in the community.
• Provide safe and effective standards of care for a diverse client population. 
• Communicate effectively with clients, families, colleagues, other health care workers, and the general public orally and in writing.
• Plan and execute research, disseminate research findings, and critically evaluate the professional literature to promote evidence-based practice.    
• Demonstrate continuing personal and professional growth to maintain professional competence, advance career development, and contribute to the development of the profession. 
• Analyze trends in health care and advocate for community-based initiatives related to health and well-being.

The program is full time and designed to be completed in 31 months. Courses must be completed in the designed sequence. Upon successful completion of the program the student will earn a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy (MSOT). Once this program is accredited, graduates of this program will be eligible to take the national certification examination for the occupational therapist. This examination is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) http://www.nbcot.org.  After successful completion of this examination, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Most states require licensure to practice, and state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT

Objectives

Graduates of the Physician Assistant Program will have the knowledge and skills to:

*Apply the principles of evidence-based medicine and critical thinking in clinical decision making

• Practice compassionate primary care medicine
• Communicate effectively with patients and families
• Partner with supervising physicians and other professional colleagues
• Utilize practice and system-based analysis to ensure patient safety
• Practice in a cost-effective and socially responsible manner
• Commit to high ethical standards responsive to the needs of the profession, the individual, and society.

PHYSICAL THERAPY

Objectives

The Physical Therapy Program prepares students with:

• Critical thinking knowledge in the areas of biological, behavioral, and clinical sciences that allow for clinical decision making

• The ability to demonstrate ethical behavior; 

• Skills needed to provide guidance and intervention in the promotion of wellness, health promotion, and enhancement of physical performance to local communities including the rural and underserved 

• The ability to provide safe and effective standards of care to diverse populations  

• Effective communication skills, both oral and written, for clear interaction with clients, families, colleagues, and the general public 

• Skills needed to plan and execute research, disseminate research findings, and critically evaluate professional literature to promote evidence-based practice 

• Continuing personal and professional growth to maintain professionalism, advance career development, and contribute to the development of the profession. 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Students must meet the general entrance requirements of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies in addition to a separate program admission application for each individual program below. Program applications should be mailed to the Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Admission requirements for the three graduate programs offered at Indiana State University are listed below:

Athletic Training

• Students must be either a Board of Certification-certified athletic trainer, or be eligible to take the Board of Certification Examination.

• In order to receive a graduate assistantship, students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0.  

Occupational Therapy

The Occupational Therapy Program at Indiana State University is a candidate (Developing Program Status) for accreditation at the Masters Entry Level. For admission submission dates and program status go to: www.indstate.edu/ot. For more information regarding accreditation and accreditation status you may contact The Accreditation Council on Occupational Therapy Education:

ACOTE

c/o Accreditation Department

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 200

Bethesda, MD 20814-3449

They may be contacted via a link on the AOTA website: http://www.acoteconline.org or by one of the following :

phone: 301-652-2682; TDD 800-377-8555; Fax 301-652-7711.

The following requirements must be met before admission to the program:

• Complete an online application through the Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS).
• Bachelor’s degree from a four (4) year accredited university with a cumulative and prerequisite grade point average (GPA) of3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The baccalaureate degree must be earned before enrolling into the program and can be in any field. All coursework must be completed within the past seven (7) years.
• Three (3) professional recommendations.
• GRE score
• TOEFL above 550
• Community Service Experience totaling 40 hours
• Biological Sciences (6 credit hours minimum), including: Human Anatomy with Lab and Physiology with Lab
• Statistics (3 credit hours)
• Medical Terminology (1-3 Credit hours)
• Ethics (3 Credit hours)
• Behavioral Sciences (12 hours minimum), including: General Psychology, Life Span Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology

Physician Assistant

• A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

• An earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning or 

• Completed Graduate Record Examination within the past five years. 

• Minimum TOEFL score of 550, when the native language is not English 

• Three letters of recommendation 

• Personal statement explaining why the applicant wants to become a physician assistant 

• Proficiency in medical terminology 

• Completion of prerequisite course work within the past seven years

• A minimum of five biological science courses of three credits each of which anatomy, physiology, and microbiology with laboratories are required 

• A minimum of two organic chemistry courses with laboratories of four credits each 

• A minimum of one statistics course of at least two credits 

Physical Therapy

The ISU Physical Therapy Program is a candidate for CAPTE accreditation. The following requirements must be met for admission to the program.

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university is required for admission into the physical therapy program.

• A grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

• Submission of a personal/professional resume

• Recommendations and evaluations

• Graduate Record Examination scores

• Physical therapy observations totaling 40 hours

• Personal interview

The degree can be in any field; however, course work must include (either as part of the degree requirements or in addition to the requirements) the following prerequisites:

• Basic English proficiency

• Interpersonal Communication 

• Human Anatomy (with lab recommended, 3 credits) 

• Physiology (with lab recommended, 3 credits) 

• Biology (4-8 credits) 

• General Chemistry I (with laboratory 4 credits) 

• General Chemistry II (with laboratory 4 credits) 

• General Physics I (with laboratory 4 credits) 

• General Physics II (with laboratory 4 credits) 

• Statistics (3 credits) 

• Developmental Psychology (3 credits) 

• Human Behavior (3-6 credits) 

• Humanities, Diversity 

• College Mathematics or algebra 

• Recommended (course in kinesiology, exercise physiology, ethics, personal computer basics) 

* Applicants with course work that is older than seven years may still apply but should contact the department admissions to determine requirements and eligibility. 

 

 

Return to: Departments