DPT 707 - Physical Therapy Across the Life Span
The Physical Therapy Across the Lifespan class, taught by Dr. Noel Marie Spina, PT, DPT, NTMTC, was filled with onlookers earlier this semester, as first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students presented their findings from their movement analysis projects. The project is a key component to the class, and to the program as a whole -- for more reasons than one.
In the class, students apply evidence-based practice to investigate movement analysis, lifespan considerations, gross motor development and body system maturation. The class also addresses health risks, preventive strategies and wellness.
“This class is very important because it is teaching us the fundamental skills needed to be carried over into our actual careers,” said Aubrey Quan, Co-President of the CSULB DPT Class of 2027. “That is why this class is so crucial, because it helps us solidify the skills we need to eventually apply to clinical practice.”
In the College of Health and Human Services at Cal State Long Beach, the three-year DPT program is designed to transform students into expert clinicians through an integrated approach in academics and clinical practice.
Janelle Siqueiros, a second-year DPT student, who took the Physical Therapy Across the Lifespan class last year, said that many of the second-year students come back to listen to and engage with the first-year students as they present their research findings from their movement analysis project. The first big research project for first-year students involves a team-based project, where students compare movement similarities and differences between individuals of different ages (a child and an older adult) performing the same task.
“It was really cool to see the D1 [students’] presentations because it was not even a year ago when that was me in my cohort getting my first step into what movement analysis is all about,” Siqueiros said. “And to now see them incorporate evidence-based practice and explain some of the things that maybe we didn’t get the chance to investigate as deeply in our projects last year -- it allows us to reflect and use those insights for the patients we are working with right now.”
A critical component of the DPT program at CSULB is providing Integrated Clinical Experiences, where students get hands-on experience working with patients under the supervision of their faculty. The Neuro Pro Bono Clinic is one example of this type of learning experience, in which Siqueiros is working and studying in currently. The clinic was held in a borrowed space in the Walter Pyramid but has since moved to a newly renovated classroom that was designed to mimic a physical therapy clinic. Students and patients have the opportunity to utilize state-of-the-art equipment, including a force plate system for balance training and body-weight support systems, and parallel bars for gait training.
It is symbolic, therefore, that the class of 2027 cohort present their first big graduate-level project in the same room where they will at this time next year, start working on patients in the Neuro Clinic.
“As soon as your patients are walking into the room, you are analyzing their movement and investigating the causes of why they are moving that way,” Siqueiros said.
Through four semester-long pro bono clinics, including the Neuro Clinic, as well as the PT@The Beach Orthopedic Practice, along with 36 weeks of supervised clinical experiences, students gain a wealth of practical application in a short time. This immersive, hands-on training, combined with a research-driven curriculum, equips students to integrate research into practice, while meaningfully serving the Long Beach community.
That is the exciting road ahead that awaits Sanam Naji, a first-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student and Student Representative for the DPT Class of 2027.
“I think I will solidify the subspecialties I’d like to pursue as I continue through the program,” said Naji, who obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology from UCLA. “I really like the diversity in our cohort – we have all different ages and people from all different backgrounds. We have a couple of students who had a different occupation previously -- some of them were school teachers, many obtained their [undergraduate] degrees in other areas of study -- and they all decided to come here to make a career change,” stated Naji.
Aubrey Quan echoes that sentiment, highlighting the fact that the DPT Program at Cal State Long Beach boasts a 100% board pass rate and employment rate over the past two years.
“One of my friends who just graduated from the program this past May…she just took the licensure exam and just got her passing score -- she is currently working at Hoag [Hospital] as a Pelvic PT,” Quan shared.
As a fun side note, physical therapy faculty Dr. Noel Marie Spina and teaching assistant for the class, Dr. Gina Brown, are CSULB DPT alumni themselves.
"Students who graduate from our program…they do get positions pretty fast and go on to do great things,” added Quan.
