On the first day of a two-day intraprofessional collaboration, Emory & Henry College Doctor of Physical Therapy students visited Wytheville Community College (WCC) on Feb. 11, to participate in collaborative learning exercises with WCC’s second-year Physical Therapist Assistant students. The students from both colleges used the opportunity to practice physical therapist and physical therapist assistant teamwork. Tabletop exercises were used to help students become familiar with how the partnership of the two occupations might occur in a variety of clinical settings. The event also fostered networking opportunities among students who are likely to work together following graduation. On the second day of the event, WCC PTA students visited the Emory & Henry School of Health Professions on February 18, 2022, to practice hands-on patient care simulations, observing each other fulfilling the appropriate team member role for the physical therapy management of standardized patients.
“This was a great opportunity for the Physical Therapist Assistant students at WCC and the Emory & Henry DPT students to learn from each other,” stated Dr. Rhonda Catron-Wood, WCC Vice President of Academics and Institutional Advancement. “We appreciate Emory and Henry College’s willingness to continue the partnership with WCC.”
WCC’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). The program was established in 1986 to provide students in the western part of Virginia with a career opportunity in the Physical Therapy field. Physical Therapist Assistants work under the close supervision of a Physical Therapist to provide therapy for patients to improve mobility, to relieve pain, and to lessen the functional limitations that occur as a result of a physical disability. For more information about the Physical Therapist Assistant program at WCC visit www.wcc.vccs.edu/pathways/healthcare or contact Julia Jackson King, PT, WCC Physical Therapist Assistant Program Head at [email protected].
