Physical Therapy Program is celebrating 25th anniversary

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— East Tennessee State University’s Physical Therapy Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 

To mark this milestone, two program alumni, Dr. Chuck Thigpen (’97) and Beth Reuchel (’07) are returning for a continuing education presentation open to alumni and other physical therapists on Saturday, Nov. 6. The PT program will also host a tailgating event for alumni, current students and faculty before ETSU’s Homecoming football game on Nov. 6. 

In addition, two inaugural members of ETSU’s PT Program, Bob Barnhart and Peter Panus, and a longtime PT program supporter, Alan Meade, will be inducted into ETSU’s College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences Hall of Fame on Nov. 4.

The first cohort of physical therapy students was admitted to the program in 1996, and the first ETSU Physical Therapy (PT) graduating class received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy in 1997. 

“The program quickly advanced to a master’s degree, with the first cohort of graduates with a master’s degree in 2001,” said Dr. Beatrice Owens, program director. “It again rapidly progressed to a doctorate level degree. A small group of students completed a transitional program to receive their doctorate degrees in 2005 and the initial first full cohort of DPT students graduated in 2006.”

Physical therapy training and education has changed and evolved over the past 25 years, and ETSU’s program has reflected those changes. While the minimum required degree to become licensed as a physical therapist 25 years ago was a bachelor’s degree, the current required degree to be eligible for becoming licensed as a physical therapist in the United States is now a doctorate level degree. 

In most states and clinical settings, physical therapists are more autonomous practitioners now than they were 25 years ago, and the education and training received have evolved to adequately prepare graduates to meet these new demands and expectations.

Along with updating and progressively advancing the entry-level PT curriculum, the program has added residency and fellowship options. In collaboration with the James H. Quillen VA, the program began offering a physical therapy residency in orthopedics in 2017. Nine therapists have currently completed this residency program. In addition, a fellowship in orthopedic manual physical therapy began in 2018 in affiliation with PT Services of Elizabethton. Four therapists have currently completed this fellowship program.

Over the past 25 years, more than 625 physical therapists have graduated from ETSU’s program. 

“Through the years, our graduates have benefited from ETSU’s emphasis on interprofessional education, which has prepared them to work in settings that provide care through medical teams,” Owens said. “It gives our students a better perspective of knowledge and skill sets available from other health care professionals in order to provide the best care possible for our patients.”

As she looks toward the next 25 years, Owens said the profession will continue to the meet the demands of new technologies and diagnoses and treatment options.

“We anticipate and look forward to advancing the knowledge and skill of our future PTs and adapting as the profession grows,” she said.

To learn more about ETSU’s Physical Therapy Program, visit www.etsu.edu/crhs/physther/.