The enduring partnership between the George Washington University Hospital (GW Hospital) and George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ (SMHS) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program creates a winning combination. Ranked as one of the best hospitals in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, GW Hospital offers GW DPT students the opportunity to complete clinical rotations in both the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation settings. Each year, around 30 GW DPT students take advantage of this opportunity to learn from some of the top clinicians in the area.
“GW DPT has always had a close tie with GW Hospital,” said Marisa Birkmeier, DPT, PT, director of clinical education and an assistant professor of health, human function, and rehabilitation sciences. The partnership between the program and hospital has been very beneficial to both parties. GW Hospital clinicians can participate in continuing education sponsored by the DPT program, including an anatomy review session in GW’s gross lab. GW DPT students have an opportunity to learn in all the various settings GW Hospital has to offer such as inpatient acute, inpatient rehab, outpatient orthopedics and outpatient neurology.
“GW DPT students always rank GW Hospital very high on their priority list when it comes to choosing clinical rotations,” Birkmeier said.
Rachel Wilcox, a third-year student, just completed her first full-time clinical rotation at GW Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation. When asked about it, Wilcox describes how the clinicians at the hospital already have a familiarity with the program’s curriculum. “Because of this, I felt like I was able to spend more time practicing higher level skills and treating more complex patients earlier in the rotation,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox also praises GW Hospital for facilitating a collaborative learning environment. “I felt encouraged to explore a bunch of different strategies and learned to justify my decision making in order to develop my own clinical identity,” Wilcox stated.
GW Hospital also offers the unique opportunity to observe and work with GW DPT faculty in the clinical setting, not just the classroom. “It is always intimidating to start working somewhere new, so seeing familiar faces made the transition from classroom to clinic feel much less daunting,” Wilcox said.
Sophia Janson, PT, GCS, is a clinician and clinical instructor at GW Hospital who has been practicing and teaching for more than 30 years. Over the last few years, Janson has instructed several GW SMHS students and worked with many alumni. She is pleased that GW Hospital has such a strong connection with the DPT program and feels all the GW Hospital staff are committed to the student experience. “The students are always well prepared and eager to learn,” she said. “I have always been impressed by their maturity.”
Janson added that she loves the innovative and creative ideas students come up with. “I use many interventions in my daily practice that are based on students’ ideas.”