DC PT Jurisprudence study guide
DC PT Jurisprudence · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The DC Physical Therapy Jurisprudence Examination is the District of Columbia's law-and-rules test for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who want a DC license. It is not a clinical exam. The DC PT Jurisprudence study guide has 8 sections and about 3,195 words.
01Practice Act: Definitions, Scope of Practice, and Prohibited Acts
This domain tests whether you can draw the line between what a licensed physical therapist may do, what may be delegated, and what only a licensee may perform in the District. Questions here are application questions, not recitations.
488 words, about 2 min02Licensure, Application Requirements, and Board Procedures
This domain covers who must be licensed in the District, what an applicant must prove, and how the Board of Physical Therapy conducts its business. Expect items on credential requirements, disclosure duties, and the boundary between Board authority and agency processing.
415 words, about 2 min03Supervision, Delegation, and PTA Scope of Practice
This domain tests the vertical relationship between the PT, the PTA, and unlicensed staff. Items typically describe a task and ask who may perform it and under what level of supervision.
398 words, about 2 min04Standards of Conduct, Ethics, and Patient Rights
This domain examines the professional duties owed to patients and the public: consent, confidentiality, boundaries, honest billing, and access to records. Items frequently present a plausible-sounding shortcut and ask whether it is permissible.
372 words, about 2 min05Documentation, Records, and Reporting Obligations
This domain tests what must appear in the record, how the record is protected and corrected, and when a DC clinician must report to an outside agency. Items often hinge on whether the documentation would support the care that was billed.
400 words, about 2 min06Discipline, Grounds for Sanction, and the Disciplinary Process
This domain covers what gets a DC licensee disciplined and how the case travels from complaint to final order. Items ask you to identify a ground, predict the next procedural step, or recognize a sanction.
357 words, about 2 min07Continuing Education and License Renewal
This domain tests the mechanics of staying licensed: the renewal cycle, the continuing education requirement, record retention for audits, and what happens when a license lapses. Items are usually about shortfalls and deadlines rather than clinical care.
371 words, about 2 min08Infection Control, Safety, and Jurisdictional Requirements
This domain tests the everyday safety standards a DC clinic must meet: standard precautions, correct levels of reprocessing, sharps and exposure management, and the regulatory layers that apply on top of clinical technique. Hand hygiene before and after every patient contact and after glove removal.
394 words, about 2 min