Presentations

Location

Schewel 208

Access Type

Open Access

Entry Number

53

Start Date

4-4-2018 10:00 AM

Department

Physical Therapy

Abstract

Social responsibility and service are key initiatives within the physical therapy profession and within the Lynchburg College Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. Service-learning opportunities are offered in the DPT program within the country of St. Lucia on a yearly basis. The primary focus of this presentation is to evaluate the impact of this type of experiential learning on both students and the local community. During the 2018 service trip, the Minister of Special Education of St. Lucia provided special insight to our contribution to the special education schools in St. Lucia, which indicates the trip provides beneficial and sustaining services to an underserved population. On our most recent trip, we utilized our skills and learned new techniques for fitting adaptive equipment, using communication boards, and utilizing available equipment to treat our patients. In addition, we educated the teachers in the special needs schools on topics such as positioning of students and exercises that improved their learning environment. Our presentation will summarize the benefits of implementing physical therapy services in a second world country and we will discuss the benefits of applying our classroom curriculum to the special education patient population.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Lori Mize PT, DPT, WCS; Terry Leahy PT, PhD, NCSE

Rights Statement

The right to download or print any portion of this material is granted by the copyright owner only for personal or educational use. The author/creator retains all proprietary rights, including copyright ownership. Any editing, other reproduction or other use of this material by any means requires the express written permission of the copyright owner. Except as provided above, or for any other use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.), you may not reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any material from this web site in any physical or digital form without the permission of the copyright owner of the material.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 4th, 10:00 AM

Physical Therapy Service-learning in a Second World Country: What are the Benefits?

Schewel 208

Social responsibility and service are key initiatives within the physical therapy profession and within the Lynchburg College Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. Service-learning opportunities are offered in the DPT program within the country of St. Lucia on a yearly basis. The primary focus of this presentation is to evaluate the impact of this type of experiential learning on both students and the local community. During the 2018 service trip, the Minister of Special Education of St. Lucia provided special insight to our contribution to the special education schools in St. Lucia, which indicates the trip provides beneficial and sustaining services to an underserved population. On our most recent trip, we utilized our skills and learned new techniques for fitting adaptive equipment, using communication boards, and utilizing available equipment to treat our patients. In addition, we educated the teachers in the special needs schools on topics such as positioning of students and exercises that improved their learning environment. Our presentation will summarize the benefits of implementing physical therapy services in a second world country and we will discuss the benefits of applying our classroom curriculum to the special education patient population.