Finding and inspiring future physical therapists

60,000. That’s how many physical therapists a national workforce study projects the country will be short by in 2038.

Karen Grossnickle, director of clinical education for Central Michigan University’s Department of Physical Therapy, hopes to close the projected gap here at home by reaching middle school students in rural Michigan.

“When reviewing the research, I found that 6th grade is when students are at the peak of deciding if they're going to go to college or not,” Grossnickle said. “It's also a time when some students, especially in more metropolitan areas, have access to career fairs and other things, but kids in rural communities have less access to that.”

To remedy that, Grossnickle is using funding from the Go Grants initiative to hold day camps in Newberry, Petoskey and Mt. Pleasant, connecting 6th graders with local physical therapists, showing the students how all the things they’ve learned in school – science, technology, engineering, arts and math – are connected to the field of physical therapy.

Each camp will include an introduction to physical therapy, anatomy and physiology lessons, hands-on time with PT equipment, and experience working with and examining mock patients who require physical therapy.

Grossnickle says the camps will have short-term, more immediate outcomes, such as having a better understanding of what a physical therapist does. But the biggest goal is more of a long-term play.

“We're really aiming to see, at 12th grade, where they’re going. Are they going to CMU or another university? Are they going into physical therapy or another health career?” she said. “We won't be able to track them going back to their communities [to work as physical therapists]…but hopefully our clinical partners can give us feedback about what they hear locally in their communities or from patients who might have heard that we did this.”

The day camps will be held in February, March and April at Helen Newberry Joy Hospital in Newberry, Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center in Petoskey and The Herbert H. and Grace A Dow College of Health Professions at CMU.

Go Grants in Action is a year-long series that shares the stories of how CMU students, faculty and staff are making a positive impact on the people and communities we serve through the Go Grants initiative.