Developing a Health Sciences Program During a Pandemic
I came to PNWU almost one year ago, ready to develop a premier Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program that would contribute to the workforce needs for physical therapists throughout the Northwest. Never in a million years did I think I would find myself in the middle of a pandemic, located in one of the hardest hit areas on the west coast.
Personally, the shelter in place has been tough, considering the short time I have been here in Yakima. I haven’t had time to create a new social network or support system. And, just like so many others, I had plans to travel this year that were canceled. One of those trips was to go back to my previous institution to attend graduation and meet up with colleagues and friends one more time. However, my sentiments became virtual, just as it did for many of you.
My message to the DPT graduates of Class 2020 from my previous institution was that, “for every challenge, there is always something good that comes out of it.” Related to that, I want to speak on the good I see thus far that has come out of this pandemic, and how that will influence PNWU’s emerging DPT program.
I have never felt more confident about my decision to come here. As the program’s founding program director, I’ve been humbled by the incredible sacrifice and commitment I have seen from PNWU students, staff, administrators and faculty. I feel privileged to be at a university where critical information about COVID is based on science and communicated by distinguished professors and physicians. I am among the best.
I also take my new role in developing future physical therapists very seriously. Therefore, it was important to find out how our profession and physical therapy educators were responding to the pandemic.
The resources that have been made available to students, faculty, and clinicians as we enter uncharted areas of practice and physical therapy education will be invaluable as we develop our new program. New ways to teach and provide physical therapy services have evolved as PT faculty and clinicians quickly adapted to the so-called “new normal.” Of course, research will be needed to validate those changes as we move forward, but for an emerging DPT program, it will be critical that we integrate what we have learned during the pandemic into our program’s curriculum and culture.
This pandemic will mold the DPT program at PNWU in several ways.
First, we need to educate the public that physical therapy is essential, not optional. Advocacy and leadership are key characteristics we will develop in our future DPT graduates.
Our DPT curriculum, and the associated clinical experiences, will strengthen physical therapy as a primary care provider. Public testimony and research evidence will help demonstrate that physical therapists are vital members of the hospital health care team.
Telehealth will strengthen our ability to promote mobility of our patients — especially those that have been discharged to home. More innovative methods of evaluating our patients remotely are needed, and will develop if telehealth continues as part of our practice. Research and evidence-based practice will be strong components of the DPT program at PNWU, as clinical research is necessary to validate those methods. Research will also be needed to demonstrate that physical therapy services can enhance the recovery of COVID patients.
As I write this, we are only beginning to discover the residual impairments COVID has on patients. The most obvious are reduced function of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. I believe, once the curve flattens, physical therapists will have an incredible role in restoring strength, mobility and function in deconditioned patients who have survived COVID. There are reports of neurological impairments, general deconditioning with muscle weakness and poor endurance, all of which physical therapists are highly trained to address.
Finally, this pandemic has strengthened our need to develop more physical therapists willing to work with the communities that need them most: Socially marginalized and medically underserved populations; people with chronic health conditions and long-term disabilities. We hope to diversify our DPT applicants through a holistic admissions approach, which will provide more diversity in the workforce.
There is no doubt that this pandemic has been a challenge, but we can apply what we learn to do better. The graduates from PNWU’s DPT program will help all of us do better.
We can always do better. Together, we will.
Peggy Trueblood, PhD
Doctor of Physical Therapy Program Director
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences