DPT Hybrid faculty member Kaylin Bullard (left) leads a group of students through fine-tuning their cardiovascular assessment techniques at the weeklong in-person immersion.
“When we got into the immersion class, everything started connecting. We are all like-minded with the same goals. We're able to teach each other when you make a mistake or correct each other or direct them with, ‘This is a better way to do it.’ Everything started connecting like, ‘Now I understand the application behind the process that we learn in class.’ Coming to immersion is a big deal where it all connects and we think, ‘Oh my gosh, that's why we do it.’"
-- Tamoya Brown; Jamaica and New Jersey; First-Year DPT student
Twice a semester, students in the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Hybrid program come to Pittsburgh from across the country for six to nine days of intensive hands-on learning. The “immersion experience,” as it is known, is spent fine-tuning and perfecting what they’ve learned with their instructors online and practiced at home, as well as learning new skills that can only be introduced during the in-person sessions, all while forming lifelong bonds with their fellow students and future colleagues.
“I treat this like a work trip. When I'm here I tend to solely focus on the immersion classwork because I'm away from my family, and so it's a lot easier to grind out a lot of hours. Usually, I'll get up at five in the morning, I'll go workout and then I'm here around 7 a.m. and I'll stay until nine or 10 at night. I study most of this time and get all the stuff done that I can because I know when I go home, I have multiple responsibilities to take care of.”
--Robert Prince; Tucson, AZ; First-Year DPT student
“In our immersion I compare it to being on deployment. You're here for 8 to 10 to 12 hours, and you devote all your time and attention here. Even when you're set free, you have to try to study and maintain that mindset. Then you need to rest, recover and come back the next day, and do it all over again.”
-– Gene Makovsky; Palm Springs, CA; U.S. Navy Veteran; First-Year DPT student
Assistant Professor Reivian Berrios-Barillas (center) demonstrates an examination of the forearm for possible impairment
People will wonder how such a hands-on program could produce high-quality training with a hybrid format that has so much of its programming online. Be assured, Pitt’s DPT Hybrid program is not “pandemic learning.” It has been designed with the academic rigor and success of the number one Pitt Physical Therapy residential program combined with Program Director Kim Nixon-Cave’s track record of developing and running other successful university hybrid programs well before the world went online in 2020. Faculty work with instructional designers to create unique and safe “hands-on” experiences than can be initiated during the online component of learning–leveraging the use of home equipment and access to a roommate, family members or friends. Current students are here to tell you how successful the Pitt DPT Hybrid formula is:
“When you look at it from the outside in, you might think it's a little bit challenging. But for most of our [online] classes, we have specific groups and we meet up with them. It could be anywhere from eight to ten individuals and you work with them very closely. We have presentations with those specific groups. From individual assignments, we have to create our own videos at home, whether it's surface anatomy or kinesiology. We're doing videos that show our professors that we actually know how to do the hands-on work.
Then when we come to immersions, this is where we get the entire group together and we do more intricate, hands-on practice. This is where you learn a lot more and get to show exactly how much you have learned throughout the process of the term.”
-– Gene Makovsky, Palm Springs, CA; U.S. Navy Veteran; First-Year DPT student
“The immersion program helps you piece everything together. At home we have the videos on how we would test muscle strength and we practice with our family or friends, but once you come in you notice that a lot of our colleagues and our peers are all going through the same thing. When we are testing it on each other, we're able to say, ‘Oh well, don't forget, you might want to stabilize the arm here or what about this.’ We're able to talk and converse more about things that we've learned and some people may have strengths that others don't.”
-- Tere Lyn Jones; Atlanta, GA; First-Year DPT student
Adjunct faculty member Whitney Patton (right) works with students on abdominal aorta assessment
At the immersion, the hands-on laboratory hums with the chatter of over 90 students working intently in teams of two and in small groups. Faculty lead instructional and breakout sessions to guide students through hands-on techniques. Students lay on treatment tables while their teammates practice assessments and they share critiques to reinforce their skills. Throughout the long days, there are breaks to socialize, grab snacks or lunch and catch up with new friends. It’s the buzz of students who are excited about what they’re learning. It’s a scene you would find on any university campus.
“We have assignments prior to immersion that prep you for it so you can practice at home on your friends and family. I think it’s nice to have that practice before so when you come here, you get to try it on so many different bodies to implement it even more and it helps you understand it better when you practice those skills.
The faculty are available through office hours online or during class, together or one-on-one. You really see it even more when you’re here. They’re walking around making sure everyone is understanding the material and teaching things you won’t necessarily learn in lecture. You can see that they’re really going out of their way to make sure we’re learning the best techniques that we can apply when we’re physical therapists.”
-- Katrina Ortiz; Pittsburgh, PA; First-Year DPT student
DPT Hybrid student Lauryn Titus practicing assessment by listening for heart sounds
Most students stay at the immersion for 12 to 14 hours each day. Their time can be spent listening to lectures and then turning around to put it into practice. Faculty take them to the anatomy/neuroanatomy lab at the Bridgeside Point building (home to the DPT residential program) to work on cadavers while others gather in small study groups at the immersion site to help each other through complex subjects. At night, they might practice techniques more in the open lab, go off on their own for quiet study time, or blow off a little steam with dinner and a Penguins game.
“As you get through those first immersions, it does become more fun than work. Less late nights at open lab. It's more like, ‘What are we going to do for dinner tonight? Should we go grab a drink?’ And you just go hang out. It's awesome.”
-- Amanda Klein; Spokane, WA; U.S. Air Force Veteran; Second-Year DPT student
Adjunct faculty member Alexa Epstein helping students through the cardiac assessment session
Interested in learning more about the DPT hybrid program? Visit our website or talk to one of our enrollment specialists at enroll@shrs.pitt.edu! The application portal (PTCAS) will begin accepting applications in June 2023 for the Fall 2024 program.
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Published March 9, 2023