Mission
The Physical Therapist Assistant Program of Gulf Coast State College perceives its
commitment to education in three dimensions:
- A legal obligation to uphold the philosophies, policies and procedures of the College.
- An ethical obligation to the community, the physical therapy profession and the consumers of physical therapy to assure the competency of entry-level physical therapist assistants.
- A moral obligation to enrolled students to provide quality education that will enable them to improve the quality of the lives they touch and to receive satisfaction from their care giving.
The program's mission is to educate students to become competent in the physical therapy skills needed to perform evidence-based practice in a variety of settings, while meeting the needs of patients, families and healthcare providers in the community. Graduates will be working with clients with psychological and social needs as well as physical needs and must, therefore, be sensitive to the total individual.
The program embraces the College's philosophy and SACS requirements for a minimum of 15 semester hours of curriculum in the general studies area. The College's mission is to graduate men and women, who will interact successfully in both their career and social worlds; whose contribution to their career and to society will be professionally and personally fulfilling.
The program ensures that graduates have entry-level competencies in the field but also recognizes the value of and need to continue their education through reading, active participation in the profession, and attending continuing education courses/seminars. The program has been designed with approximately one quarter of the course transferable to a baccalaureate program if graduates should choose to continue their education.