Eight physical therapy students from Eastern Washington University recently participated in a summer seminar where they earned credits while working directly with children at Joya Child & Family Development.
The class, taught by Ginette Kerkering, a Joya physical therapist who is also an EWU instructor, was made available for the first time thanks to an ongoing collaboration with higher education.
“I knew it was going to be exciting, but I didn’t know it was going to be this rewarding,” said Amy Maddox, a PT student who participated.
The seminar allowed students to do hands-on therapy with infants and toddlers in a pediatric therapy setting, in contrast to working with children inside a campus classroom.
Half of the students planned to enter pediatric physical therapy when they signed up for the class. By the end of the seminar, two others were open to the possibility.
“It was exciting for the students and it was exciting for the parents. That was an unexpected benefit,” Kerkering said.
Students were divided into teams of two with each team assigned a child to work with for the duration of the two-week seminar. During that time, students logged 25 hours while evaluating and treating little ones, ranging from six to 30 months in age. The sessions were parent-approved and offered in addition to their regular therapy.
Students initially intimidated to work with infants and toddlers found that quick thinking and flexibility are magic ingredients when doing PT with young children. They learned to pick up on nonverbal cues to recognize when a little one was hungry or tired.
“This class made me feel so much more comfortable going into my clinicals,” said Shayla Weiler, who plans to specialize in pediatrics.
Students wrapped up the seminar by presenting independent research and summarizing their experience for Kerkering and their peers.
“Seeing the children in an environment they are familiar with, and having access to all the equipment, really provided a great opportunity for us to further our education,” one student commented in a post survey.
Kerkering was impressed by how quickly the students learned to read and respond to the children and the thoroughness of their work. The children rewarded their student therapists with some amazing milestone moments that included a child rolling over for the first time.
“It was exciting for the students and it was exciting for the parents. That was an unexpected benefit,” Kerkering said.
Joya Child & Family Development works hard to engage and train a future generation of pediatric providers at a time when there are shortages of these important professionals. Every year, we host about 50 students who come for internships and practicums that support degrees in physical, occupational and speech therapy, special education and nursing and even more who come for observations and other educational requirements. Sometimes we even hire some of these outstanding students!