Suffolk County Community College’s Physical Therapist Assistant program is recognized
as a program of excellence by potential applicants, the physical therapy community
and the consumer of physical therapy services in Suffolk County. Graduates will be
actively recruited by physical therapy clinics for their reputation of professionalism
and excellence in care.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program has a duty to three distinct communities:
the students, the physical therapy field, and the residents of Suffolk County. The
commitment to all three is to prepare graduates to be skilled, competent, ethical,
self-assured, adaptable, continuous learners who will seek best practice and effortlessly
assume a multifaceted role of clinician, patient educator and advocate. The means
to this end is a broad-based high quality education integrating foundational knowledge,
evidence, problem solving, technical skill and practical experience in an enriched
learning environment that stimulates cognitive, affective and psychomotor processes
and promotes the beliefs that learning is continuous, patients are people, and physical
therapy is a career, not a job.
The mission of the physical therapist assistant program is to provide students the
opportunity to explore their potential for continuous growth and intellectual development;
to connect and become part of the physical therapy community; and to improve society
through service, delivery of best practice, and responsiveness to changes in health
care and culture.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is responsible to students to prepare them
in two years to be competent entry-level generalists with the necessary knowledge
and skills to perform the role of an entry-level physical therapist assistant under
the direct supervision of a physical therapist; to pass the National Physical Therapy
Examination for the Physical Therapist Assistant; and to obtain employment upon graduation.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is committed to the physical therapy community
in Suffolk County to graduate sufficient numbers of physical therapist assistants
to meet their employment needs; to support continuous learning in physical therapy;
and to stand as a resource for professional, legal, and ethical queries about the
practice of physical therapy and the scope of work of the physical therapist assistant.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is accountable to the community served by
Suffolk County Community College to offer a quality program that provides an avenue
to employment in two years and to promote quality in health care delivery by graduating
qualified physical therapist assistants who will strive for excellence in practice
by being lifelong learners and connoisseurs of best evidence in practice.
Professional, legal, and ethical behavior:
Program faculty will at all times promote and model the professional core values and
standards of the American Physical Therapy Association and the legal and ethical standards
of New York State law.
Tolerance, civility and respect for the rights and diversity of all individuals:
Program faculty will create and maintain a classroom atmosphere that fosters mutual
respect and understanding.
Lifelong self-improvement and professional development
Program faculty will promote and engage in continuous professional development, and
strive to instill in students, a lifelong desire to grow and expand their potential.
