Windham High School students had the opportunity to learn about what a career in physical therapy could look like for them through an event co-hosted by UConn’s Physical Therapy Program and ConnCAP (Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation).
On Saturday March 8, 15 Windham High School students visited the UConn Storrs campus where they learned about what physical therapy is and the many paths to get into the field.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to give them another perspective about physical therapy and what we do within the profession,” says Evans Payen, a first-year student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program and the event organizer.
Payen also coordinated the event with Upward Bound, a program that helps prepare first-generation and low-income students for college.
During the event, DPT students and faculty gave presentations about what physical therapy is, what kinds of prerequisites students need to enter a physical therapy graduate program, and potential careers in physical therapy.
“The way it’s able to open their eyes and provide them with a broader scope of careers and field opportunities instead of just seeing what’s right in front of you,” Payen says. “Because sometimes physical therapy can be kind of unknown, especially at a young age, unless you’ve had an experience with physical therapy yourself.”
Students also participated in a demonstration of diagnostic ultrasound technology, learning about how it works, what it’s used for in physical therapy, and even trying it out on their own arms.
“It was cool to bring in professionals from different aspects of physical therapy,” one student who participated in the event says. “It was nice knowing the different ways and techniques to diagnose different injuries. It was a fun activity using the diagnostic ultrasound.”
“I really enjoyed the hands-on activity,” says another student participant. “I liked the preparation and explanation of careers and opportunities.”
The students who participated in the event come from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
“It’s crucial to have a diverse physical therapy background because it leads to better health care,” Payen says “Having physical therapists who look like their patients can lead to better outcomes.”
A recent study compared national racial and ethnic diversity to representation in various healthcare professions. Physical therapy was one of the least representative with only 3.3% of physical therapists being Black, compared to 12% of the general U.S. population; and 3.3% Hispanic, compared to 18.7%.
“It has really spurred the American Physical Therapy Association to have an even more concerted effort to taking action to improve representation in our student body and in our profession with the hopes of reducing health disparities,” Cristina Colón-Semenza, assistant professor of kinesiology says.
The physical therapy program has collaborated with ConnCAP for the past three years. Each summer, ConnCAP brings high school students to UConn’s campus to learn about potential careers, one of which is physical therapy. This event represents an expansion of this partnership. The physical therapy program also hosted an event in the fall with ConnCAP.
Colón-Semenza and Payen say they hope to make these expanded events a part of their annual collaboration with ConnCAP.
“Many of our students, though interested in the medical field, are undecided on what path to take. Since attending the workshop, I have multiple students wanting to dive in deeper,” says Erick Castillo, ConnCAP academic coordinator for Windham High School. “It is apparent that there is true value in hearing and interacting with experts in the field. It is a positive recruitment opportunity for everyone involved and can eventually change lives.”
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Enhancing Health.
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