The first doctor of physical therapy class of 22 students at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) Northwest campus in Fayetteville received their degrees recently, 3 years after the inaugural class began.

The program also recently received its national accreditation, which allows its graduates to earn their licenses to practice across the country, according to a news story from Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

The 3-year course combines both online and in-person teaching, in which students watch the lectures online at home, then attend class in-person to apply what they’ve learned to various patient situations.

It also combines classwork with internships at clinics throughout the area, which enables the students to work with patients right away, including at the attached Arkansas Veterans Home and UAMS clinics in the same building, the news story notes.

John Jefferson, chairman of the physical therapy department, says in the news story that 16 of the 22 graduates have accepted jobs, while the others are still deciding their choices among the job offers that they have received.

“It’s a good job market to graduate into,” he says. “Then they’ll be helping patients everywhere.”

The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education granted UAMS its accreditation after examining all of the program’s policies and curriculum, and interviewing graduating students and the clinics where they interned.

Moving forward, each class will include 24 students, and Jefferson says they’ll stay that size for at least the first 5 years. Then, the school will look at whether it has the resources for more.

[Source: Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazzette]