Therapy Services: Physical

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Physical Therapy Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy


Program Overview

At Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, our goal is to provide quality care to our patients while helping students gain skills to become a competent therapist. We promote education by modeling and hands-on experiences. We encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and to take initiative in gaining knowledge and experience.

As a student, you’ll receive guidance and tools to enhance the learning process. You may have the opportunity to observe the following:

  • diagnostic observation (including ICU, NICU, developmental evaluations, gait lab and others) 
  • hospital-sponsored seminars 
  • vendor demonstrations
  • research/applied science 
  • specialty clinics (including Down syndrome, AMC, seating, CP, prosthetics, cleft palate and others)
  • surgery observation

Details for Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy graduate students are required to have completed at least one full-time fieldwork placement prior to an affiliation at Nemours. Tests and measures you may be expected to participate in include:

  • Peabody Developmental Motor Scales PDMS-2
  • Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency BOT2
  • Functional Independence Measure WeeFIM
  • Gross Motor Function Measure GMFM
  • Gross Motor Function Classification System GMFCS 
  • Range of Motion, Goniometry
  • Manual Muscle Testing, MMT
  • Modified Ashworth Scale

About Us

The Department of Therapeutic Services at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children includes assistive technology, audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation engineering and speech-language pathology.

Our department is multidisciplinary and managed as three programs aligned with the population served (rehab, acute and outpatient). Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children was established in 1935 under the will of Alfred I. duPont (grandson of the founder of the E.I. duPont de Nemours Chemical Company) for the “care and treatment of crippled children, but not incurables.”

Today, under the auspices of the Nemours Foundation, we are a full-service children’s hospital that treats over 100,000 patients yearly. Originally founded as an orthopedic facility, we are now a 180-bed hospital that offers all the specialties of pediatric medicine, surgery and dentistry for both inpatients and outpatients.

Important Information

Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children does not accept requests for fieldwork placement directly from students. Students are required to go through their fieldwork coordinator at their school for placement in an affiliation with Nemours.

Logistical Information

A vehicle is recommended, since limited bus service is available in this area. Wilmington Bus DART Route 28 goes from the city train to the hospital on a schedule. Students parking on the hospital grounds must register their vehicle with Security and park in the employee parking garage, not in areas reserved for visitors or patients. Parking is free.

Housing is not available on campus. Some students have been able to sublet apartments from students at the University of Delaware.

Meals are available in the hospital cafeteria and coffee kiosks during specified hours of operation, and vending machine options are available.

Therapeutic Services is open: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

There are limited treatments on Saturdays and Sundays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for acute postsurgical and rehab patients. An individual schedule of approximately 40 hours per week will be established with your clinical instructor. Flexible scheduling is necessary due to the demands of the patient population. Staff rotate working Saturday/Sundays and students will work 1-2 Saturdays/Sundays during their affiliation at the discretion of your clinical instructor.

Each student will be assigned a clinical instructor who will be available to you throughout your affiliation. Supervision will be close at first and will lessen according to your needs, but will always be at least line-of-sight. Any questions or concerns with patient treatment, scheduling, in-services, etc., should be directed to your clinical instructor. Performance reports are delivered at mid-term and at the end of your affiliation. Verbal and/or written feedback is provided daily or as needed. The student will meet with the education coordinator prior to mid-term to provide the student the opportunity to discuss progression of fieldwork and express any concerns.

One (1) excused absence per month is allowed for illness or interviews — based on discipline and school requirements. Excessive time off must be made up before the completion of the affiliation. In the event of illness, contact your clinical instructor by 7:30 a.m. by calling the department at (302) 651-4354 or as your clinical instructor directs.

Students are to wear neat, clean, casual street clothes that are still professional. Sneakers (clean) are permitted and shoes must be close-toed (no sandals) for safety and must be worn with hosiery. No blue denim jeans, mini-skirts, shorts, capri pants, sleeveless shirts, midriff tops or t-shirts are allowed. A swimsuit will permit participation in our aquatics program, and may be required based on the discipline and clinical instructor.

No dangle earrings, bracelets, or necklaces should be worn. Nails should be short and should not have colored polish. Tattoos need to be covered. Piercings other than in the ear lobe are not to have jewelry. No skin should be exposed when bending, stooping and reaching.

Questions About Applying

Michelle Feairheller, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS
Physical Therapy
(610) 542-3300
michelle.feairheller@nemours.org