From Classroom to Community

Mercy’s Physical Therapy students put their skills in motion to help older adults.

Students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) Program give back to the community before they even graduate. True to Mercy’s values, the D.P.T. program emphasizes service. Students must complete community service hours, and certain courses involve projects that help the surrounding community.

In the third and final year of the D.P.T. program, students take a course titled “Maturity and Physical Therapy Practice,” which teaches how to treat conditions that arise as people age. When faculty members began incorporating more handson practice into that course a few years ago, they organized opportunities for students to conduct wellness screenings and present health education sessions to older adults in nearby communities.

In February and March this year, third-year students conducted wellness screenings with older adults in Dobbs Ferry and Yonkers. In each screening, students worked in pairs to conduct an intake interview, took vital signs and assessed the patient’s movement. They then shared their recommendations with a faculty supervisor for approval before explaining them to the patient.

Michael Bulla, D.P.T. ’25, saw the wellness screenings as a welcome opportunity to apply everything he had learned to date. Though his patient in Yonkers did not have any mobility deficits, she did have lingering orthopedic issues and comorbidities, which he said could lead to musculoskeletal issues over time. “This was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a physical therapy student,” he said. “It was particularly helpful to practice active listening, which is the core of what we do as physical therapists.”

In a wellness screening in Dobbs Ferry, Cheri-Ann Parris, D.P.T. ’25, found that her patient’s blood pressure was high and that her balance was impaired. After conferring with the faculty supervisor, she and her classmates referred the patient to a primary care physician and a physical therapist. “I was glad we could put these concerns on her radar,” she said.

In addition to these personalized screenings, D.P.T. students led health education sessions for older adults through the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program in Dobbs Ferry and the Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Program in Yonkers. In small groups, students presented on yoga, Pilates, strengthening exercises and methods of getting up from the floor safely. The sessions were well-attended with approximately 50 total participants.

Bulla’s group led the session on getting up from the floor safely. They spoke about the prevalence of falls among older adults and demonstrated how to safely get up from the floor. Then, many of the participants — even those who had entered the session using walkers and canes — practiced getting down on the floor and then getting back up safely.

Parris’ group led the session on strengthening exercises to promote bone health. To make the exercises more accessible, they explained the exercises in terms of everyday activities — such as describing dead lifts as picking up heavy grocery bags — and gave the option of using canned soup instead of dumbbells. “We don’t want exercising to feel like a big, daunting activity,” Parris explained. “The main goal is for older adults to be more functional in their daily lives and understand that strength training fosters vitality.”

Participants described the students as well-trained and professional. Patti, a participant at the Senior Citizen Nutrition Program in Dobbs Ferry, said, “Students checked our form and really zeroed in on making sure that we were doing things correctly and that our position was correct.”

Beverly, another participant in Dobbs Ferry, agreed: “They explained everything well and overall did a really nice job. I found the movement, stretching and breathing exercises helpful.”

Ruth Hansen, P.T., D.P.T., Ph.D., associate professor and associate director of Mercy’s Physical Therapy Program, was pleased with the turnout and audience participation. “I’ve never seen a group of older adults participate and interact as much with the students as they did this year,” she said. “I was really proud of the students for leading such strong sessions.”

In addition to enabling students to apply their knowledge and skills, serving community members inspired students like Bulla to continue giving back. “This experience opened my eyes to how much good physical therapists can do in our communities,” he said.

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