FSC to launch Doctor of Physical Therapy program

LAKELAND – In response to an overwhelming regional need, Florida Southern College is launching a new doctor of physical therapy program that will supply highly trained physical therapists to healthcare facilities in central Florida and beyond each year.

Pending its candidacy with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), the new program will begin its first classes in the fall of 2019. Applications are now being accepted. The doctor of physical therapy program will accept up to 36 students in each class, who will complete the course of study in 2½ years, including 36 weeks of clinical experiences.

Although students will perform their clinical rotations throughout the United States, local sites will include Watson Clinic and Lakeland Regional Health. Students and faculty will also provide pro bono services to underserved populations, as well as provide community outreach in education and screenings.

The founding program director and dean of the School of Physical Therapy is Dr. Nancy A. Nuzzo, who came to Florida Southern after starting the physical therapy program at the University of Jamestown in Fargo, N.D.  Dr. Nuzzo has over 25 years of experience in the field of physical therapy and has been teaching for 20 of those years while practicing as a physical therapist.

The program will be strategically housed in the former location of the Lakeland Association of Realtors in the Dixieland Historic District on South Florida Avenue.  The renovation of the 6,500-square-foot office building will include a new 11,000-square-foot addition.

Physical therapists are movement experts who treat people of all ages and abilities, helping them improve and maintain function and quality of life. Graduates of this program are considered clinical doctors similar to physicians, dentists and podiatrists and provide services in a variety of settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatients and inpatients clinics, home health agencies and nursing and assisted living facilities.

The decision to start the program was made recently by the college’s Board of Trustees following an extensive needs assessment study, said Dr. Kyle Fedler, FSC’s provost. Among its findings, the study reported:

• The number of physical therapists nationwide is projected to increase 28 percent over the next eight years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• According to the Florida Hospital Association, physical therapist positions take longer to fill than any other health-related field with 60 percent of positions requiring at least 61 days to fill.
• Polk County has the fourth lowest physical therapist distribution per 100,000 in central Florida despite having the fourth highest county population in the region, and only Sarasota County approaches the national average of physical therapist distribution.

“We believe this program will be a public service to Polk County and central Florida,” Dr. Fedler said. “Just as our School of Nursing and Health Sciences has supplied high-quality nurses to serve the healthcare needs of this region, the doctor of physical therapy program will fill a critical need as this region continues to expand.”

For more information about the new Doctor of Physical Therapy program at FSC, visit the website at www.flsouthern.edu/DPT. 

About Florida Southern College

Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private comprehensive college in Florida. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 72 undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio; is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning; and boasts 30 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked among the Top 20 Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report; named a Top Baccalaureate College by Washington Monthly; and included in The Princeton Review’s 382 Best Colleges, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2018, and Forbes magazine’s America’s Top Colleges Guide. The College is committed to the development of the whole student through vibrant student life programs that prepare graduates to make a positive, consequential impact on society.  FSC is conveniently located within an hour’s drive of both Orlando and Tampa. FSC is home to the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. Named the “Most Beautiful Campus in the Nation” for two consecutive years by The Princeton Review and one of the nation’s “Ten College Campuses with the Best Architecture” by Architectural Digest, Florida Southern is an internationally-recognized place of beauty and academic excellence.