After their first semester, the 28 students in Mercer University’s new doctor of physical therapy program are a bit daunted by the rigors of the curriculum. But they aren’t worried about whether their hard work will pay off after graduation.
“Our students will have jobs and choices,” said Leslie Taylor, PT, Ph.D., professor and chair of Mercer’s Department of Physical Therapy. “This is an amazing field. You’ll find physical therapists in just about any health care setting you can name.
“The role is expanding. More and more evidence is supporting the use of physical therapy for acute and chronic conditions.”
The profession ranked fourth on CNNMoney magazine’s 2010 list of 100 best jobs in America, based on salary, career satisfaction and job opportunities. Demand for physical therapists is projected to grow by 30 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The demand for acute-care physical therapists is growing because the population is aging and more people are living longer with chronic diseases such as COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], CHF [congestive heart failure] and cancer,” said Sarah Newsome, PTMS, therapy manager of acute care rehabilitation services at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville. “More middle-aged and older adults are opting for elective joint- replacement surgeries. We are also seeing more multiple trauma patients in metro areas, due to motor vehicle collisions.”
Mercer officials considered the needs of an aging population — along with a mission to provide health care practitioners to the state and region — before launching its physical therapy program last August. The school also did an extensive needs-analysis in Georgia, Taylor said.
“The university looked at the ratio of citizens to [physical] therapists and found that Georgia ranked 47 out of 50 states in terms of need,” she said.
Mercer’s program joins five others in the state: Emory University, North Georgia College & State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly Medical College of Georgia) and Georgia State University. With physical therapy education moving toward the medical model of practitioners specializing in the field, Mercer offers fellowships and residency programs for licensed clinicians. Its neuro physical therapy program will be one of only seven in the country.
Mercer’s inaugural class of physical therapy students each hold a bachelor’s degree (a requirement) in majors including nutrition, English, biomedical engineering and exercise and health science physiology. They were chosen for academic excellence and their passion and commitment to helping people live better. The first class will graduate in 2013.
Taylor believes the program, which integrates service learning with clinical internships starting in the first semester, is innovative.
“We have a physical therapy clinic in our classroom building, where faculty members treat patients and students have an opportunity to observe what they are learning in the classroom put into practice,” she said.
Under an integrated clinical model, students will be immersed in pediatric, adult and older adult physical therapy projects during their first, third and fifth semesters, respectively. In the second and fourth semesters, students will rotate through various clinical experiences, so that by the sixth, seventh and eighth semesters they are ready to make the most of their 12-week clinical experiences.
“We will encourage them to go outside the state for their final clinical experiences so that they can see how physical therapy is done in other places,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to graduate exceptional generalist practitioners.”
Ashley Marchman, a graduate of Clemson University, likes the program’s dynamic relationship between learning and hands-on experiences.
“We’re already working with clients and interacting with people who are not our classmates or faculty members, and we’re not just observing,” Marchman said.
University of Georgia graduate Ryan Skillen was part of the pediatric service learning group, which went to child care centers and offered respite care to parents of children with special needs.
“We played with the kids and encouraged them to move. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m interested in pediatric physical therapy now,” Skillen said.
Taylor’s personal research addresses physical function in older adults, so she took students to Briarcliff Oaks, an independent learning facility for senior citizens. They introduced the clients to Upright, an education and exercise-intervention program for seniors at risk of falling.
The group performed physical assessments and provided education about vision, medication and exercise. Students took turns delivering education and teaching exercises so that by the end of the 12 weeks, clients learned how to increase their fitness and balance.
“I was thrilled by the students’ ongoing learning experiences and the bonds they are already forming with one another,” Taylor said.
The integrated clinical model will expose students to various specialties and practice settings, including hospitals, clinics, industry, school systems and home health.
“Home health is a booming part of the health care industry and they are constantly looking for therapists,” said Catherine Maloney, PT, MHA, FACHE, director of the Center for Rehabilitation Medicine at Emory Healthcare. “But we also need them in hospitals. The job market was stable for awhile, but there are more vacancies now than there used to be, so we’re glad to hear of a new program in Georgia.”
Newsome said new grads are welcome in the acute-care setting at Gwinnett Medical Center “because they can bring new ideas and energy to mesh with the experience of seasoned PTs. We enjoy having members join our team who have worked in different settings of therapy because it helps us to see the entire rehab spectrum, and to help us plan the needs of patients after they leave the hospital.”
While the future is bright for physical therapists, Maloney sees major reimbursement challenges ahead.
“Medicare guidelines are much more stringent about who receives inpatient rehab, and this January, new guidelines drastically reduced the reimbursement fees for outpatient services,” she said.
“Reimbursement is where the challenges lie ahead for new grads and long-timers,” said Mary Ann Wood, MSNCM, OTR/L, therapy manager at Glancy Rehabilitation Center’s inpatient and outpatient services at Gwinnett Medical Center. “As the money shrinks that we get paid in all spheres, money for ancillary services will be tighter.”
Wood advises therapists to participate in local and national professional associations to keep abreast of new legislation and trends in the industry.
“Health care is changing and that is a challenge and an opportunity for our profession,” Taylor said. “We can be part of the solution of achieving affordable health care. We help people live longer and better, often without having to resort to more expensive interventions. In that respect, physical therapy is a bargain.”
