After careful consideration and much discussion among the faculty in the Institute for Physical Therapy Education (IPTE), new students will no longer be accepted into the Transitional Doctoral in Physical Therapy Program (t-DPT). 

We feel honored to have been entrusted to meet the ongoing professional development needs of the many hard working and dedicated physical therapists who chose Widener.  Since starting the program, 120 clinicians have graduated with a post-professional, clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy credential.  Countless others have taken courses in the program for personal and professional development that will help them become more effective autonomous practitioners. 

The IPTE remains committed to the students who are currently enrolled in the t-DPT program. We are committed to creating a plan of study that will allow degree completion for those students who (1) continue to meet the academic requirements for graduation and (2) are demonstrating reasonable progress in the program toward the completion the t-DPT degree.

We will continue our primary mission, which is to educate students interested in becoming physical therapist in the entry level professional program.  The entry-level professional program is designed for students looking to enter the profession of physical therapy for the first time.  More information about that program can be found at the following link: www.widener.edu/ipte.

If you have any questions about the future direction of the t-DPT program or would like to discuss degree completion options, please do not hesitate to call us at 610 499-1295 or contact the program coordinator, Robert Wellmon, PT, PhD, NCS by e-mail at rhwellmon@widener.edu.

Transitional Doctorate

The Transitional Doctorate of Physical Therapy (t-DPT) program provides licensed physical therapists with an opportunity to enhance their professional clinical competencies and career marketability by participating in a course of study designed to foment the skills necessary to achieve autonomous clinical practice. Widener's t-DPT is designed to prepare graduates who are autonomous, evidenced-based healthcare practitioners by augmenting their skills and knowledge in the areas of scientific inquiry, differential diagnosis, imaging, pharmacology, administration and human resource and materials management, communication, education, and heath and wellness screening and promotion.

Mission Statement

Program Goals And Objectives

The goals of the Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy Program are to prepare licensed physical therapists who can do the following:

1. Function as primary, autonomous providers of physical therapy care
2. Be a responsible member of the professional health care community
3. Assume leadership roles in the health care community
4. Identify relevant clinical problems and incorporate current research findings into clinical practice
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic and cultural issues affecting clinical practice and effectively advocate for changes in health care policy
6. Apply emerging theories to current clinical practice
7. Participate in and provide education to various health care consumers, patients, peers, and students.

Graduates of the t-DPT program upon completion of their course of study will be able to integrate the following skills into their current professional practice:

1. Demonstrate an enhanced ability to use clinical reasoning skills to solve patient management problems
2. Understand and apply evidence-based principles to contemporary physical therapy practice
3. Provide services that are based on the best available evidence to all areas of clinical practice, including physical therapy examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, prevention activities, and wellness initiatives
4. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate new or evolving theories and technologies that are relevant to physical therapy practice across a variety of settings and patient diagnoses
5. Demonstrate the ability to meet the challenges of direct access and autonomous practice
6. Participate in reflective clinical practice by implementing and participating in a program of critical self-assessment and demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning
7. Demonstrate the prerequisite leadership skills to effectively participate in all aspects of health care and contribute to the evolution of the physical therapy profession
8. Demonstrate the professional and interpersonal communication skills that are necessary to adapt to changing health care environments, which will allow the efficacious provision of physical therapy care to clients across the life span and all episodes of care.