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E. Ball1, T. Ruediger1, H. Sheets1, B. Singh1
1Manchester University, Physical Therapy, Fort Wayne, United States
Background: Health equity is the fifth portion of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Quintuple Aim. Many community members continue to be challenged by financial constraints to access appropriate healthcare. Reducing financial barriers to health care is one way to improve health equity. A pro-bono clinic is positioned positively to improve health equity.
The physiotherapy programs should prepare students for the challenges of the health care by incorporating innovative didactic curricula and teaching the significance of professional service. There is an opportunity for developing programs to include a pro-bono clinic early in their plans, enhancing the effectiveness of learning how to impact health inequity.
The physiotherapy programs should prepare students for the challenges of the health care by incorporating innovative didactic curricula and teaching the significance of professional service. There is an opportunity for developing programs to include a pro-bono clinic early in their plans, enhancing the effectiveness of learning how to impact health inequity.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the launch of pro-bono clinic at a developing program at Manchester University to comprehensively educate future movement system experts who incorporate innovative clinical practices to deliver physiotherapy services.
Methods: This clinic will provide a firsthand opportunity for institutional services to the collective core and associate faculty, paving the way to further services involving the region’s underserved communities. Simultaneously, it will allow the students to acquire clinical knowledge and research opportunities.
The DPT program will hire five clinicians from the physiotherapy community. Each incoming student with every cohort will have mandatory clinical experience coursework during three semesters to be accomplished in this pro-bono clinic. The pro-bono clinic will also be connected to a 3,000-square feet movement evaluation research laboratory allowing the students and faculty to conduct and collaborate on research. Funding has been secured to build two treatment rooms and a physician office to host the vascular surgeons.
The DPT program will hire five clinicians from the physiotherapy community. Each incoming student with every cohort will have mandatory clinical experience coursework during three semesters to be accomplished in this pro-bono clinic. The pro-bono clinic will also be connected to a 3,000-square feet movement evaluation research laboratory allowing the students and faculty to conduct and collaborate on research. Funding has been secured to build two treatment rooms and a physician office to host the vascular surgeons.
Results: The DPT program is scheduled to matriculate its first cohort in May 2023 (pending a positive CAPTE visit), and the pro-bono clinic will be launched in December 2022. The program has acquired support from the Board of Trustees and funding from the Lilly Endowment for the next five years. It will be housed in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at the campus of Manchester University, Indiana. DPT students will get a chance to be part of the inter-professional health care model. The campus has established pharmacy, nursing, nutrigenomics, and athletic training programs. In addition, DPT program faculty will collaborate with various pro-bono networks including Matthew 25 Health.
The vision for expanding rehabilitation in the PT curriculum will have three phases of growth: 1) DPT students from all cohorts gaining exposure to rehabilitation and treatment methods using state-of-the-art equipment, 2) incorporating inter-professional education and hands-on practice throughout the curriculum, and 3) initiating a research track to support faculty and student research.
The vision for expanding rehabilitation in the PT curriculum will have three phases of growth: 1) DPT students from all cohorts gaining exposure to rehabilitation and treatment methods using state-of-the-art equipment, 2) incorporating inter-professional education and hands-on practice throughout the curriculum, and 3) initiating a research track to support faculty and student research.
Conclusions: A pro-bono clinic should be considered by all physiotherapy programs as it promotes inter-professional practice and directly addresses our professional commitment to health care equity.
Implications: More pro-bono clinics improves the opportunity for members to offer physical therapy services to members of the community most vulnerable to healthcare inequality. Most founding programs juggle multiple accreditation standards, clinical placements, and space requirements. Planning research and service collaborations before the start of a new program can help with better program outcomes and student success.
Funding acknowledgements: Lily Endowment Funding Agency, United States
Keywords:
Pro-bono
Quintuple Aim
Health Equity
Pro-bono
Quintuple Aim
Health Equity
Topics:
Education
Professionalism & ethics
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Education
Professionalism & ethics
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Did this work require ethics approval? No
Reason: Exempt
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
