Physical Therapy
Program Overview
At Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, 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
- Curriculum
- Requirements
- Location & Living
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
Student Requirements: Therapeutic Services
The Therapeutic Services Department of Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware accepts students for clinical rotations in:
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Speech-language pathology
Before proceeding, please verify with your academic institution that that they are an affiliated program and then follow the instructions below carefully. You’ll need to gather a series of required screening and immunization documents and have your academic advisor certify that you have completed all steps outlined below.
Your fieldwork coordinator will receive a form to complete, sign and return to us to verify that you have obtained all required immunizations and clearances.
Gather Your Required Screening & Immunization Documents
We recommend starting to gather the required documents as early as possible — 4 to 6 months before your preferred affiliation start date.
You’ll need:
Delaware Child Abuse Screening Report
Instructions:
- Please download the following document: Delaware Child Protection Registry Request Form.
- Fill out Part I of this form, sign and date.
- Email your completed form to therapystaffing@nemours.org
Things to Note:
- Allow at least 15 working days for results to be processed.
- The form must be submitted within 90 days of signature date in order to be processed.
About Our Hospital in Delaware
The Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware is a multispecialty, tertiary care teaching institution located on a 300-acre estate in the scenic Brandywine Valley in Wilmington, Del.
Among the hospital’s amenities for all staff are:
- Free parking
- Park-like setting
- Gym/fitness center
- On-site child care center for children of staff
Living in Delaware Valley
Because of our location in the tri-state area of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we offer unique living/working opportunities. For example, you can choose to live in the downtown Philadelphia area and easily commute to our park-like hospital campus in Wilmington.
Apply Now
Michelle Feairheller, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS
Physical Therapy
michelle.feairheller@nemours.org