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Pregnancy Policy
Pregnancy while enrolled in the PTA Program is discouraged. Female students who become pregnant or suspect pregnancy must notify the Program Director immediately! Notification must be made in writing. A student has the right to not declare her pregnancy, in which case, the student will be treated as though she were not pregnant. Once a student has declared her pregnancy, she also has the right to undeclare her pregnancy at any time and would be treated as though she was not pregnant. This is in accordance with Federal and State laws. Confidentiality is assured, if necessary.
Students who have declared the pregnancy will receive counseling concerning continuation of studies during pregnancy. Pregnancy is not grounds for dismissal, but the PTA Program utilizes various modalities and treatment methods during training that are contraindicated for use on pregnant women.
Below are the recommendations concerning the student’s progression in the PTA Program:
Option 1 - A student who becomes pregnant while in the program will be given the option of withdrawing immediately. She may return at a later date as determined by the Program Director. Accreditation standards regarding class size must be upheld and may affect program re-entry. There is no guarantee if or when a student may be able to re-enter the program.
Option 2 - The pregnant student who chooses not to withdraw from the program immediately must
acknowledge in writing having received counseling and assume all risk for possible
damage to the unborn fetus. The pregnant student must also acknowledge in writing
that she may not be able to participate in certain clinical education rotations, thereby
affective her ability to graduate from the program. If the delivery due date falls
after program completion, the student may opt to continue in the program if she chooses
to assume all risk for possible damage to the unborn fetus. However, as stated earlier,
some clinical education sites may not allow pregnant students to participate in clinical
education rotations. Since the program has no control over this, pregnant students
may ultimately have to declare Option 1 or Option 3. The same program re-entry policies
will still apply as stated in Option 1. Re-admission to the program is not guaranteed.
Option 3 - Undeclare pregnancy.