The Latest from the Blogs

This weekend, the Department of Physical Therapy is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of PT at the Institute. Alumni, faculty, and friends will come together for social and educational events. PT Chair (and Interim Dean of SHRS) Leslie Portney has produced a publication that reports the history of the program. Congratulations to our PT faculty, students, and alumni!This birthday celebration of PT, which coincides with National PT Month, is a reminder of the important contribution that our PT programs make to the life of the Institute. From an educational standpoint, our program is recognized for cutting edge curricula, and is ranked 7th in the nation and first in the northeast by US News and World Report. Faculty in PT contribute as Institute leaders, and many have high profiles in the American Physical Therapy Association. Our remarkable and talented Physical Therapy students participate in wellness projects that impact many aspects of the...Read more

Last week I distributed two documents. The first, a summary of the "academic" progress of the Institute tells the story of all that you and your students and colleagues have done to make the Institute better in teaching, service, and research over the past year. The second, The Role of the IHP in Health Care Education of the Future, provided a series of questions and reflections for the faculty to consider as we engage in strategic planning over this fall term. As I thought about "Vision 2020", our strategic planning process, I found it very helpful to use the accomplishments and challenges of the past year to serve as the foundation for thoughts about the future. We have accomplished so much! Rather than listening to those random voices of frustration about the volume of work that remains to be done, looking backward helps me see that we can be confident...Read more

The Institute's academic and administrative leaders have just completed their annual retreat for purposes of planning, thinking about our future, discussing emerging trends and issues. To my knowledge, almost every organization engages in similar planning and "big thinking" activities. While you will be hearing more about the future from President Bellack, I want you to know that we are looking ahead, thinking about the year 2020, considering what the profile of our school will be, and what the necessary "culture" will be to support the future. I would ask that in the coming weeks each member of the Institute community begin to think about how he or she deals with change, why change is viewed as positive or negative, and how we can all be more comfortable in dealing with changes. Your leadership is in agreement that change is are required for the vitality of the Institute, the fulfillment of...Read more

Last week, the Institute celebrated our partnerships with preceptors from two of our major "partners within Partners." These events, held at Spaulding Boston, Spaulding Cambridge, Spaulding's Shaunnesy-Kaplan, and at Mass General were attended by over 100 preceptors, administrators and guests. The events represented a deliberate gesture by the Institute to express our thanks to those friends and colleagues who do so much for us. Over the past year, in partnership with our Clinical Affairs Coordinating Committee, I have had the remarkable opportunity to consider the impact of our clinical partners. Ours is a unique situation, as we are housed within a major health system. Almost all of our students will spend a significant portion of their clinical education with PHS programs. How fortunate they are to learn from these remarkable clinicians, many who are alumni of the Institute. How fortunate we are to have these dedicated, loyal, and trusted friends...Read more